Chuck vs The Island
by Sir Chucky
Summary: What happens if Sarah doesn't run with Chuck. What if he is sent to lock down. Can Chuck forgive Sarah? Was it even her fault?
1. Smiling Faces Sometimes

**A/N Hello again, I thought I would start this new story since Bryce vs Everybody went over so well… lol. This story starts at the end of Season 2 episode 20 Chuck vs The First Kill and it's a "what if" story, what if Sarah didn't run with Chuck. Oh, I have not stopped Bryce, as I told several of you in PM's it is going to be a slow story. Anyway I hope you enjoy this one, it is a little dark, but dark with a light.**

 **I do not own Chuck.**

 **Chapter 1 - Smiling Faces Sometimes**

The mood in Castle was bleak, to say the least, of all the missions they had run in the past year, none had been such a resounding failure. On top of not saving Orion, they had let Jill Roberts escape. Agent John Casey and Agent Sarah Walker were supposed to be the best, yes they have had failures before, but none to this magnitude, and now here they sat at the briefing table in Castle, with General Diane Beckman staring down at them from the large monitor. Although the pause in her rant had only been seconds it had seemed like hours. Enough time for both of the agents to examine every line and wrinkle on her face, enough time to watch her face turn red with anger and when she did finally speak again the sound of her voice made both of the agents wince. "How could you let Jill Roberts get away?"

"I'm sorry, General… I took her inside the building because I didn't have a choice." Sarah Walker said in a determined voice.

"So, not only do we have no idea where Steve Bartowski is, we have a Fulcrum agent who knows all of our secrets running free. Where is Chuck now?"

"He's on his way to the Buy More," Sarah informed.

"Permission to drop the twerp into a deep dark hole, General," Casey said, knowing that it wouldn't happen but showing his annoyance of the whole situation.

"Granted…" and with that one word from the General, everything changed. "It's over… the Human Intersect project has become too hard to control. I can't afford to wonder anymore if this team or Chuck Bartowski is a liability."

Sarah had stood and walked quickly to be right in front of the monitor and said: "What are you saying General?"

"I'm shutting down this project. Chuck's going into lockdown. He'll be taken to Washington and put into a secure facility once and for all."

"Operation Moron is over?" Casey whispered more to himself than anyone else listening.

"You're making a mistake, General," Sarah said

"I have made my decision, Agent Walker."

"Chuck isn't going to go down without a fight," Sarah said in an attempt to sway the general.

"That's why there won't be one."

"What do you mean?"

"Chuck trusts you, Sarah. He believes you would never betray him. Use that. Go to Chuck. Tell him we intercepted his father while being transported and he's back at Castle. Agent Casey will be waiting here. He will tranq Chuck. Then, he will wait for the extraction team to arrive for his transfer. That is all." The screen then went blank and the NSA seal appeared.

Casey gave Sarah a small sad smile and walked over and pulled out the case with the tranq gun in it. "How can you just stand there and say nothing?" the anger evident in Sarah's voice

"Beckman's right. The safest place for Chuck is underground. What do you think is going to happen when Fulcrum finds Jill, anyway?

Sarah slowly walked across the parking lot to the Buy More; her emotions were all over the place. She doesn't want to put Chuck in lockdown; she wanted him right where he was, with her. But she knew she could not disobey a direct order, she was a good agent and she followed the orders of her superiors. If she did not do this it would be a dereliction of duty, she could and most likely would be brought up on charges. Her heart sank to her stomach when she walked into the Buy More, and she saw Chuck walking right toward her. It was time again to be an agent.

"We have good news," Sarah said to Chuck, forcing a smile to her face.

"Can it wait? Computer emergency" he said shaking the keys to the hearder.

"It's about your father. We found him."

Chuck looked at her with a questioning look and said "What? How? Where is he?"

"One of our recon teams intercepted his transport as Fulcrum was moving him. He's back at Castle. He's safe, Chuck. It's all over." Sarah finished with a big smile on her face.

Chuck released a big breath and sighed and smiled a full smile at Sarah. "I owe you and apology."

"Why?"

"I was beginning to think that I couldn't trust you anymore, Sarah. That maybe Jill was right, that the CIA was never going to let me go, that they would always put their best interest ahead of mine. But not you. You've always looked out for me. Thank you." The whole time Chuck was speaking, Sarah could feel her smile failing her, she felt that now she was betraying the best man she had ever known, a man that she lov… cared about very much. What can she do, her mind had begun to race, she had to figure out a way to make things right, and then, in a split second, she knew what she had to do. She leaned in to hug him and just as she was going to whisper in his ear to remove his watch, just as she was going to tell him his father was still out there, just as she was going to tell him "we have to run" she saw them. Three men wearing dark colored suits and wearing sunglasses, three men that she recognized from the Fulcrum headquarters that they had just left, three men that were now running towards them.

"Come on Chuck we got to get out of here."

"What… What's going on, Sarah? Where're we going?" Sarah didn't answer but pulled Chuck through the parking lot toward her car. Then she saw two more men standing near her Porsch, so she pulled him into the Orange Orange and down into Castle. Just as she was going to tell Casey that they were being followed by Fulcrum agents, she heard the all familiar "whoosh" of the tranq pistol. Chuck reached up and pulled the dart out of his neck and looked at Sarah. She could see the hurt in his eyes, she could see the sadness, and she could see her betrayal. Chuck willed himself not to pass out, and turned to Casey and said: "Save my father."

Casey said: "You have my word," and then shot three more darts into Chuck's chest. As Chuck started to fall, Sarah rushed over to catch him and then eased him down to the floor; she looked at Casey and cried "What have you done?"

"My job."

####

He could hear a voice, but it sounded like it was at the other end of a long tunnel. It was a female, but he didn't recognize her. He decided not to open his eyes, and just listen; he needed to find out where he was, and what had happened to him.

"How long has he been out?" Chuck heard a man's voice ask.

"Almost 48 hours," the woman answered, "how many tranq darts did they use?"

"According to the report, they used 4 darts," the man said with a chuckle.

"Is this funny to you Sgt.? They could have killed him using that many. Who are the idiots that did this?"

"Major that would be, Colonel John Casey of the NSA and Special Agent Sarah Walker of the CIA." Chuck's heart sank, he already knew, but to hear it out loud, to hear he had been betrayed by the two people he trusted most to protect him was almost too much for him to take. And on top of that, they both got a promotion for their "great deed". Chuck could not help himself and let out a sarcastic snort when he thought of the promotions. The Major heard the snort and walked closer to Chuck's bed and looked at him, while she was checking over Chuck, she continued her conversation with the sergeant.

"Do you watch wrestling, Sergeant?"

"Umm… sometimes ma'am" the sergeant answered wondering where this was going.

"My little brother used to love the WWE, and there was a wrestler called The Big Show, you know him?"

"Yes, ma'am, he was billed as the world's largest wrestler."

"Yes, that is him," the Major then turned and faced the sergeant and yelled "YOU WOULD NOT EVEN USE FOUR TRANQ DARTS ON HIM! I want someone held accountable for this. You will write up a recommendation for punishment on these two agents."

"But ma'am these…"

"What?!"

"Nothing ma'am I will take care of it." The Major then walked over to Chuck's bed and saw a very small smile on his face.

"Well looks like someone is playing possum," the Major said as she leaned in closer to check Chuck's breathing. "You can open your eyes now, Mr. Bartowski". Chuck opened his eyes slowly to let them adjust to the bright fluorescent lights above his head. His mouth was very dry and he was still dizzy, but he was awake. "My name is Major Andrea Chang, I am a doctor with the NSA and I will be taking care of you until the tranquilizers wear off." Chuck's eyes were able to focus and he looked at the woman that had been talking to him. Major Chang was dressed in her neatly pressed Air Force uniform; she was an Asian American that if Chuck had to guess was about 5' 6" tall. She had jet black hair that she wore in a bun and had soft brown eyes.

"Where am I?" Chuck asked with a scratchy voice.

"You are in Washington D.C., Mr. Bartowski."

"Chuck…"

"Excuse me?"

"Call me Chuck…"

"Ok… Chuck, you are here so I can make sure you are healthy enough for the next part of you journey."

"Which is?"

"I'm sorry, I am not privy to that information, but the General will be here soon."

"Oh great…" Chuck said letting out a sigh.

####

Chuck had been moved to a room, a room with no television, no phone, and no windows. This must be what my life will be like now, he thought, four walls, a small table, and a bed. Chuck's depression was pulling him deeper and deeper, it had been 5 days since he had been taken and the only person he had seen was Major Chang, but she didn't have any information for him, or she wouldn't tell him if she did. Chuck was lying in his bed with his eyes shut when he heard the door open, figuring it was the major he didn't open his eyes and just waited for her to start.

"Mr. Bartowski…" he knew that voice, it was the bane of his existence, General Beckman. Chuck just laid there and did not acknowledge her at all.

"Mr. Bartowski, I am talking to you," the general was getting a little agitated; she was not used to being ignored.

"What did you tell my sister?" Chuck said softly not opening his eyes.

"Mr. Bartowski, we will get to all of that but first…"

"What did you tell my sister?!"

"Mr. Bar…

"WHAT DID YOU TELL MY SISTER!"

####

Sarah stood in Casey's old apartment. Most of the surveillance equipment had been removed, but a few cameras were still in place. Sarah stood motionless as she watched two California Highway Patrol officers walk up to Ellie and Devon's apartment. She watched as they knocked on the door and she watched Ellie open it. She watched as the officers spoke. She watched as Ellie fell to her knees screaming and crying uncontrollably. She watched as Devon ran to her, fall to the floor and took her into his arms as he cried. Sarah then straightened her posture, turned off the monitor, walked to the bathroom and vomited.

####

The general sighed in defeat, she knew she had to answer this question or she would never get anything out of him. "Your sister and friends were told that you and Sarah were involved in a traffic accident. Both Sarah Walker and Charles Bartowski are now dead. Chuck let out a primordial scream that shook the room and caused the general to take a step back. The doors burst open and Major Chang ran in and grabbed Chuck by the shoulders and tried to calm him. She cut her eyes to the general and said in a harsh tone, "What did you do?"

"Watch your tone Major!" The general had to get back in control of this situation.

"On this side of the building I am in charge General, now what did you do?"

"I told him the story that we told his sister to cover him being gone."

"Well, that was stupid…"

"MAJOR!"

"Sorry, ma'am," Andrea said with all the sarcasm and bile she could put into her voice. "I am going to need you to leave until I can calm him" The general turn on her heels and headed out the door, once out the door she leaned hard against the wall and put her head in her hands, this was not going well at all.

"Chuck… Chuck… I need you to calm down," Andrea was trying her best to calm him without medication, but she was failing horribly, finally and with great apprehension she ordered a sedative. She had just gotten all that crap that the NSA pumped into him out and now she had to add more, she was not happy. Chuck felt the needle and then he felt the effects, his breathing became easier and his mind became quiet, he looked at Andrea and mouthed "thank you," as he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning when Chuck woke up he wasn't in his tiny little room; he was in a large bed in a very large apartment. Chuck eased himself up and began to look around. The bedroom was big, bigger than his old bedroom and this one had a king size bed. Chuck found that a little ironic, but he moved out to the living area. There he found a large television with a DVD player with hundreds of DVDs. He also noticed that they had gotten all the game systems and games anyone could want. On the bookshelves, he saw books, graphic novels, and comic books. It looked like someone had held up a comic book store. He then went to the kitchen and found it stocked with snacks and soft drinks. By the phone was a menu for the cafeteria, he picked up the phone and it started ringing without even entering a number. "Kitchen" came a voice from the other end and he just hung up. Over on the desk was a computer and a stack of files with a note on them.

Mr. Bartowski,

Read over these files, if you flash on anything, e-mail the information to me. My e-mail address is already on your computer.

General Beckman,

And so it begins, Chuck thought to himself, as he opened the first file.

####

General Beckman had told her assistant that she did not want to be bothered, and usually when she said that she would go all day without any interruptions. But today was different, not 30 minutes after she walked into her office, the intercom was sounding. "General, I hate to bother you, but a Major Chang is here and she says it is urgent."

The general let out a big sigh, she knew that the Major was in charge of Bartowski's wellbeing, and knew whatever the Major had to say, she did not want to hear. "Send her in" was all she said.

"General, we have a problem," Andrea said without any hesitation.

"What's wrong now, the wrong kind of comic books?" The general was tired of all the concessions she had to make just to keep Bartowski happy, and she really didn't want to hear anything today. He had been on lockdown for three months now and it seemed like every day it was something.

Andrea just shook her head at the general's lack of interest in Chuck, but continued on, "No ma'am, but if we don't do something fast he is going to die."

"WHAT? What do you mean? Is he sick?" the general was now starting to show some interest.

"Ma'am, for the past 2 weeks all he has done is his work on the files and sleep. He has almost stopped eating. He has stopped watching movies and playing his games. When we let him outside he walks to the middle of the yard and sits facing west. He has lost almost 20 pounds in the last three weeks, if he keeps this up, he will shut down soon."

"Can we force him to eat?"

Andrea shook her head again in disbelief "No ma'am not unless we put a feeding tube in him. But I do have an idea."

"What's your idea, Major?"

"The Island, we have total control of it, he could come and go from his apartment, he wouldn't be a prisoner. "

"Major, you know as well as I do the Island is for rehabbing agents, not for locking down assets."

"That is why it is perfect, people will think he is an agent, and he will be surrounded by agents to protect him. All I know is he cannot go on the way he is."

The general did like the idea of Bartowski being far away from her, then she would not have to put up with all his inane request, and even if she didn't show it she did want him to be healthy.

"Okay, we will send him to the Island, but I am not just going to let him run loose, I will read in an agent that is there and they will become his protection detail."

"That's a good idea," Andrea said thoughtfully, "just make sure they do not treat him like a prisoner. It will be good for him to have some social interaction; I have been told he has even stopped talking to his guards."

"Okay, Major, you make the arrangements and I will go talk to Mr. Bartowski."

"You're going to talk to him?"

"Yes, it is time I set things straight."

####

Chuck was lying in his bed just staring at the ceiling, he was doing what they want, so Ellie and his friends would be safe, but he was not going to do anything else. He was tired of being treated like a criminal. What had he done that was so wrong? Why is he being punished, all he did was everything that they asked of him. For the tenth time that day and the one millionth time since he had been locked up, he cursed Bryce Larkin, and just like every time he thought of Bryce, he thought of her. He had thought he could trust her, hell he thought she may have even loved him, but here he was all locked up proving once again what a gullible nerd he was. In his whole life, there has only been one woman that had not disappointed him and she thinks he is dead now. He let out a small moan as he thought of Ellie and the more he thought about Ellie and the more he thought of "her" the more depressed he got. Something had to give soon; he just couldn't take it anymore. Chuck had flopped over on his stomach and buried his face in his pillow when the doorbell to his apartment rang. He slowly extracted himself from the bed and moved toward the door. Then he yelled, "you have the key come in." To say he was surprised to see the general would be an understatement, he had not seen her since he forced her to tell the cover story of his disappearance.

"What can I do for you General, am I not getting the reports done fast enough for you." The tone of his voice was strained and weak; Beckman could see he was having trouble standing.

"I hear you are not eating, Mr. Bartowski. I am hearing all you do is sleep and work on the files."

"I thought you would be happy, you have everything you ever wanted. A subservient intersect, at your service ma'am. Isn't that why you locked me up, so I have to do everything you say? All I wanted to do was save my father… Did Casey find him?"

The general looked at Chuck, contemplating telling him, but she decided to tell him the truth and said: "Yes, Major Casey rescued your father." She decided not to tell him that Fulcrum had been defeated, no sense in giving him false hope of every going home.

"Major? I thought he had been promoted to Colonel."

"Well he had, but when the report came in on how many tranq darts he used on you, he was busted back down to Major."

"So my father is okay and he is with Ellie, okay I can live with that."

"Yes he is doing well and your sister was married on schedule."

Chuck smiled at the thought that Ellie was able to go ahead with her wedding, he knew she needed it. He was also happy that his father there for her now.

I have some other news, Mr. Bartowski, we are going to move you…"

"To Burbank?"

"No, you know we can't do that, but we are moving you to the Island…" Chuck began to flash and when it was over he looked at her curiously, "You're sending me to a rehab clinic?"

"Well that is its main purpose, but you can live there with no locks, come and go as you please from you apartment and swim in the ocean, interact with the others there, all I ask is you don't tell them about your… gift and start eating and continue your work."

Chuck just stared at her, and wondered what was she up to? But he was too weak to argue, so he just resigned to his fate and said: "Anything is better than here, so when do I leave?"

"Is tomorrow soon enough?"

"Perfect"

 **Next: The Island**

 **A/N All reviews are welcome, as long as they are constructive. Don't just say "That's sucks," say something like "That sucks because yadda yadda yadda" If you don't want to leave a public review PM me or call me at … nope!**


	2. Island of Lost Souls

**A/N WOW, thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites, I am humbled by the response. I truly hope everyone enjoys this chapter also. I want to thank xxx Rob M xxx for letting me know my scene breaks were not showing up, that has been fixed in Chapter 1 and I should not have that problem anymore. Okay, get ready to get your nerd card punched.**

 **And as always I don't own Chuck, but I also don't own Star Trek.**

 **Chapter 2 – Island of Lost Souls**

Chuck was discovering a new sensation, it wasn't totally unpleasant, kind of like a roller coaster, but he wasn't sure how much more he could take. He had ridden in the back of an SUV down bumpy roads before and he had ridden in the back of an SUV with a black bag over his head before, but the combinations of the two were totally something new. "Guys, I don't know how much more I can take," Chuck said between the jarring motions made by the bumps in the road.

"Not much longer Mr. Carmichael, we will be there soon," the driver called out back over his shoulder.

"Ok, I am just warning you, you may have to throw this bag that's on my head away. I don't think anyone else will want to use it after I'm done." Both the driver and the guard started laughing and Chuck added in "Really guys, I am not kidding…"

"We're here now." Chuck then felt one last bump and then the smoothness of what he could only assume was a paved road. The SUV came to a stop and when his door was opened the black bag was removed from his head. Chuck instinctively started to look around and he saw a private jet with three people standing at the jet's stairs. "There you go, Mr. Carmichael, they are waiting on you," the guard that had removed the bag said.

"Thanks for the lovely, relaxing ride guys," Chuck said as the two were laughing as they got into the SUV and drove away. Chuck walked over towards the jet and as he recognized two of the three people there he began to speak, "Major Chang, you going with me?"

"No, I just came to see my favorite patient before he left."

"Andrea, I just want to thank you. I wouldn't have made it these past months without you."

"Oh, don't sell yourself short, you are a remarkable guy Charles Bartowski," the major said as she absentmindedly straightened the collar on his shirt. Chuck gave her a sad smile and said: "I guess you didn't hear, Charles Bartowski was killed in a car wreck, I'm just Chuck."

"Well then, Just Chuck, it has been my honor," the major said and gave him a big hug. Chuck then looked at the man standing beside the major and said: "Sergeant, I am going to miss our game nights."

"I am too, Chuck." The two shook hands and then the major introduced the third member of the party. "Chuck, this is Agent Nicky Parsons, she will be accompanying you to your destination. Chuck stepped in front of Agent Parsons, who was leaning on a pair of crutches; Chuck could see a large bandage on her right knee, even though she wore long pants. "It is nice to meet you, Agent Parsons."

"You too, Mr. Carmichael." The two shook hands and Chuck went up the stairs and found a seat; just as he sat down he jumped back up and ran for the door. Once there he looked at Agent Parsons and said: "I am so sorry, can I help you up the stairs?" Parsons gave him a questioning look. Andrea walked up to Parsons and whispered in her ear, "That's just the way he is." Parsons looked back at Chuck and nodded her head and said: "yes I would appreciate that".

Once on the jet, Chuck went back to his seat and closed his eyes. Since the jets windows were all blacked out and he would not be able to watch the trip, he had decided to take a nap. Chuck also wanted to go over all the information he had received when he flashed on Nicky Parsons. For the past few months, while he had been locked up, Chuck had worked on hiding the effect a flash had on him. He has now gotten so good at hiding it; the only way you can tell if he was flashing was to hook him up to an EEG.

 _Agent: Nicolette "_ _Nicky" O'Hara Parsons: D.O.B. 03/28/1981: Currently 28 years old, active duty 7 years:_

 _Current Status: Indefinite Leave: Injured on a mission after falling off of a moving train._

 _Personal Information Blonde hair 5'8" tall and 128 lbs. Dress Size 2: Bra Size…_

Chuck quickly opened his eyes and shook his head; he then put the heels of his palms in his eyes and smiled. Man, these CIA reports are thorough.

"Something wrong, Mr. Carmichael?" he heard the voice that was now sitting right beside him say.

"No-no, just… just a little headache, and please call me Chuck,"

"Okay, I will but only if you call me Nicky. Alright, we might as get started on this, although I am on indefinite leave, because of my knee, I have been tasked to watch over you. So no going off on your own, you tell me anytime you feel the need to go off on a walk, or a swim or whatever. Please make this easy on me." She finished up rubbing her knee for emphasis. "And when I am at rehab, you will stay in your bungalow, understand?"

"I get a bungalow?"

"Out of everything I just said all I get from you is 'I get a bungalow'?" Chuck then broke out the patented Bartowski smile, and the agent's heart skipped a beat. "Umm…" she said a little flustered, "I think I am going to take a nap." She then got up and went and lay on the couch in the back of the jet.

#####

Major John Casey was in his element, surrounded by Special Forces headed into a known terrorist control section of Afghanistan. He lit up a large cigar and sat back and waited for the drop zone. He closed his eyes and remembered.

"What have you done?" Sarah screamed at him

"My job." He said

"Casey there are Fulcrum agents chasing us!"

"All the more reason to put him in lockdown, Walker". Casey quickly walked over to the monitors and pulled up the surveillance in the Orange Orange. As the screens came to life, Casey saw five men demolishing the insides of the store. Casey could hear the men yelling that they knew they saw them run in this building. Casey then pushed a button making all electronic equipment useless in the store; he then hit another button that completely locked down the store. Casey smiled when he saw the men's reaction when they heard the clicking sound of the locks. He watched as they pulled and kicked at the door, he even let out a small laugh when one of the men threw a chair at the window, and it bounced back and hit him in the groin. Casey finally had enough of his fun and hit another button which released a sleeping agent into the store and the five men fell to the floor. Casey turned around with a smile on his face until he saw Sarah standing over Chuck just staring at him lying there. "Sarah," Casey said trying to be as gentle as he knew how "you know this is what is best for him."

"But… but he thinks I betrayed him, he thinks I led him here." Sarah sat down and put her head in her hands and shook her head.

"Well, isn't that what you did, what you were ordered to do? Damn it Sarah, look… look out there. Those guys will not stop; they will hunt for him until he is caught or dead, or both. This is what's best for him." Sarah looked up and stared at the monitor and at the five Fulcrum agents lying on the floor of the Orange Orange. Casey put a hand on her shoulder and said: "All I can do for the kid now is keep my promise." Just as Sarah was going to stand, the monitor came on and General Beckman was looking over the scene.

"Good job Agents, I knew you could do it. Now Agent Walker, I need…"

"Excuse me, ma'am," Sarah interjected, "since as you say, the Human Intersect Program is over, I no longer work for you, I am leaving and going back to Langley to get my next assignment." And with that Sarah turned and walked toward the back entrance of Castle, once she got to the hall leading out she turned and said: "Major Casey, it has been a pleasure," and then she walked out the door. The general calmed herself before continuing on "Major Casey I need you to report to Washington to get your next assignment…"

"With all due respect, no ma'am". The general's fury was evident in her face and she yelled at the top of her lungs, "What is wrong with you people!"

"Ma'am, I just sent a good man, a citizen of this country to a lock down that he will never leave." Casey turned and looked at Chuck still lying on the floor, he let out a sigh and knelt down beside him and continued, "Before I come to Washington, which I will do ma'am, I have a promise to keep."

"And what is that?" The general said, no longer as angry as she was, but still annoyed.

"To save his father".

"Major Casey… Major Casey… Drop zone in five." The major's eyes shot opened and he stood and walked to the back of the plane.

####

Sarah Walker was waiting, it seems that was all she did anymore, "just wait" was the only answer she would get from the questions she would ask. When is my next mission… just wait. Can I have information on Charles Bartowski… just wait. Can I see General Beckman… just wait. Now she was waiting in the outer office of the Director of the CIA. She really couldn't complain too much the CIA had given her four months to "get over" Burbank, she was even there when Ellie was told the cover story of what happen to her and Chuck. As she remembered that moment, her heart actually started to physically hurt. During her off time, she had used up every favor she had ever garnered in this business and she still was unable to find out one bit of information about where Chuck was, but she swore to herself she would find him.

"Agent Walker, the Director will see you now," the brunette assistant said. Sarah said thank you and shook her head and thought "damn brunettes". As she walked into the office and took her seat, she saw him sitting there, she was not going to acknowledge him at all, but the director did it for her. "I know you two may have problems, but you do work well together. So, settle your differences, because I need you to work as a team."

"Yes, sir, we can do that," Bryce Larkin said without even looking at Sarah. The director continued by saying, "I need for you to go to Paris, it seems Fulcrum was just a puppet organization, what do you know about the Ring…"

Almost an hour later the meeting ended and the two agents were walking down the hall when Bryce said "Sarah…"

"Outside," she said and looked at him with hateful eyes. Once they had made it out of one of the side doors of the CIA building, Sarah turned and hit Bryce with everything she could and it knocked him to the ground. "You did this to him!" she screamed at him. "He is locked away forever, because of you! You sent him that damn thing and now he is gone!" Sarah finally broke, in the past months since Chuck was taken, she had not cried, not once, not even when she saw Ellie collapse after receiving word that Chuck was dead, but now she went to her knees and cried uncontrollably. Bryce picked himself up off the ground and went over and helped Sarah to her feet. As she stood there still crying, he pulled her into his arms in an attempt to comfort her, but she screamed "NO" and began hitting him in the chest. Bryce pulled her in again and this time, she fell into his arms. Bryce took a deep breath and said, "I know Sarah, I know this is my fault, no one blames me more than I do. I am sure no one in their right mind believes me when I say that Chuck is my friend, but he is. Just do this with me, we go on our missions and during our down time we look for Chuck, I want to find him just as much as you."

"I truly doubt that," Sarah said, "You may want to find him… but I need to find him, but I will work with you, we will do our missions, and we will find Chuck." Sarah pushed away from Bryce and looks deep into his eyes so he knows she means every word of her next statement, "Bryce, the Andersons are no more, separate beds all the time, understand?" Sarah almost laughed when she saw the disappointment in his eyes, but he agreed. Sarah looked at her watch and said, "Our flight leaves in four hours, pick me up at my apartment in two." Bryce watched her walk away and let out a big sigh as he rubbed his face and said: "Damn it, Chuck, where are you?"

####

Chuck sat in his seat trying to sleep, but every time he would doze off, it would seem that the jet would make a drastic turn. If Chuck didn't know better he would have thought that the jet was just flying in circles. One of the agents that were traveling with them saw that Chuck was becoming curious of the planes movements, so he brought Chuck a couple of Tylenol and a bottle of water. Chuck looked at him to question the reason, but he explained that Agent Parsons had told him that he had a headache. Chuck took the tablets and drank the water and in minutes he was asleep.

Chuck had a sixth sense, it was his "superpower", and he always could tell when someone was staring at him. So it was no surprise when he woke up and saw Agent Parsons sitting beside him watching him sleep. "Hello Chuck," she said as he opened his eyes.

"Hello, Agent Parsons."

"Now Chuck, I thought we agreed you would call me Nicky."

"Okay Nicky, why are you staring at me?"

"I liked watching you sleep, your breathing was relaxing."

"Yeah, I like it when I am breathing too. How long did I sleep?"

"Oh, a couple of hours I would think." Chuck found this odd, he didn't care how comfortable the seats on this jet were, if he had slept for a couple of hours sitting up the way he was his neck and legs would be stiff, but they weren't. He decided to let it slide, mainly because he didn't want to irritate his new handler on the first day, he would wait until tomorrow to irritate her. Not long after Chuck woke up the pilot announced that they would be landing in 15 minutes and needed everyone to fasten their seatbelts and no sooner had Chuck buckled up he felt the plane's descent.

True to the pilot's word the jet was on the ground 15 minutes later, Chuck stood up and stretched and headed for the door when Nicky put a hand on his arm and said: "You're going to help me out with the protection part right? No running off, checking with me, and listening to what I say?"

"Sure Nicky I will," Chuck said with a small smile.

"Good, then follow me down the stairs."

As Chuck descended the stairs he saw three men waiting on him, Chuck swallowed hard and walked over to them. The older more distinguished looking man stepped forward and extended his hand to Chuck and said: "Welcome to the Island Mr. Bartowski, I am Jack London, and I am the director of operations here on the Island. As they shook hands Mr. London took Chuck's hand in both of his and said: "I am so glad to finally meet you, Mr. Bartowski, I have heard so much about you."

"And just what have you heard about me," Chuck said more than a little nervous. Jack London then nodded at the two other men, who then led Nicky to a waiting SUV and they left. Chuck began to look around and stepped back from London. "Don't worry Mr. Bartowski; I just thought we needed to have this conversation in private and to answer your question. My boy, I know lots of things," he said as he tapped his index finger on his temple. The two walked toward the second SUV and Mr. London looked at Chuck and said: "What do you know about me?"

"Well, you look good for a dead man." Jack looked at him and laughed and shrugged his shoulders. Chuck continued with, "You were MI6, supposedly killed by a bullet to your head. How's your nephew doing? Gary, Right?" Mr. London sighed and said: "I am impressed Mr. Bartowski, it was my understanding that all that information was redacted." Chuck just smiled at him and tapped his index finger to his temple. The two men got into the SUV and headed to the main compound.

When they arrived, Chuck stepped out of the SUV and was in shock. If he hadn't known better he would have thought he had traveled back in time to small town America, circa 1950. It was something right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. As Chuck tried to take it all in, London stepped up beside him and said: "It's something isn't it, Mr. Bartowski?"

"Call me Chuck… and yes it is." The man let out a laugh and said: "Okay Chuck and you call me Jack. Here is a quick tour, that is the movie theater, and that is the bowling alley, and that is the rehab center, that's just offices and that is the gun range. Let me see, that over there is the natatorium and that trail north leads to the beach." Chuck was spinning around trying to follow Jack's finger as he pointed out all the sites, but he just figured he would discover them all later. "That trail east leads to the bungalows, and I am going to get Agent Hudson, to take you to yours. Please stay there until Agent Parsons gets there." Chuck nodded his head and followed the agent.

It only took them five minutes to walk to his bungalow. As he walked in he was really impressed with how big it seemed. The living room looked comfortable with a couch and two recliners. There was a large television mounted on the wall, which made him smile. Next were the dining room and then the kitchen. As he headed down the hall he found a bedroom on the right side and a workroom on the left. The workroom or he guessed it was his office had a computer with multiple monitors. He continued his self-guided tour and he found a bathroom, he was actually glad to see that, ever since he arrived he had images of himself running to an outhouse in the middle of the night. The last room he went into was another bedroom, but he knew it. As he walked in he saw his bed, his dresser, his Tron poster. He ran to the closet and found his clothes. The dresser was full of all his t-shirts. The room was exactly the same as the one Echo Park. Chuck slowly looked around the room and when he picked up a picture of him and Sarah, he found that it was getting hard to breathe and then everything started to go dark.

####

Nicky Parsons hated this part of government work, hurry up and wait. She had been sitting in the office for almost an hour, and she was getting agitated. Finally, the receptionist that had greeted her when she came in, stuck her head in the office and said: "Everything is good to go; you can head to your bungalow now. My understanding is Mr. Bartowski is already there." Nicky thanked her and got a ride to the bungalow. She walked into the living room and she began to look around, taking in the sites of her new home, and also looking for Chuck. She passed the dining room and kitchen. She looked into a bedroom which she gathered was hers since her bags were there. She skipped the rest of the house and headed for the last door. She gently knocked, but when there was no answer she opened the door to look for Chuck. When she entered the room she saw him sitting on the floor, in a corner of the room. He had his legs pulled into his chest and he was just rocking. She hurried over to him to see what was wrong and all he could say was "It's still a cage."

"Chuck, what are you talking about?" She said as she sat down beside him. He looked at her and let out a sigh and asked: "Did you ever watch Star Trek, the original series?" She just nodded her head slowly and let him continue. "The pilot episode, well the first one, had Captain Christopher Pike, captured. They put him in all the places they thought he would like," Chuck emphasized by pointing to things in his room, "but it was still a cage. I am still locked down, it just a better cell." Nicky then put a finger under his chin and picked up his head up so he would look in her eyes, with her other hand she began playing with the curls in his hair. "Chuck, I can't begin to imagine what you are going through, this may be a cage, but it is one without bars. You are free, to an extent, to come and go as you please. If you have to be in a lock down facility, and from what I been told it is for your protection, then why not here." Chuck knew what she was saying was logical, but right now, in this moment, he didn't want logic, he wanted to go home. Nicky seeing the emotion in his eyes put both her arms around him and pulled him into her for a hug. Chuck let out a little chuckle and said: "I'll be alright; it is just a little overwhelming right now." Nicky just shushed him and continued to hold him. For some reason, she had become very protective of Chuck in a very short time she had known. That is when she decided to add a submission to her original mission, not only will she protect him physically she was going to protect him emotionally. "Everything is going to be okay Chuck. I will take care of you."

 **Next: Secrets discovered… a Friend leaves… Trouble arrives**

 **A/N Both Nicky Parsons and Jack London, come spy based stories.**


	3. Everybody Hurts Sometimes

**A/N Hello everyone, sorry this update is a little later than I usually post , but I took a vacation, yay! Thanks everybody so much for the reviews, favorites and follows, these are things that keep me writing, well and I really want to know what happens to Chuck on that island.**

 **I would like to thank the newest, well only member of my team, michaelfmx [pause for applause] he is the beta for this story, and also gives me great ideas when I don't have any, which is quite often.**

 **At the end of the last chapter I said that next a friend leaves and trouble arrives, these things will happen, just not yet.**

 **I guess you all know this, but I will say it again I Do Not Own Chuck.**

 **Chapter 3 – Everybody Hurts Sometimes**

Agent Nicky Parsons was known for her cool demeanor, nothing seemed to faze her. Whether it was a hostage negotiation or walking into a room to defuse a bomb, she never let anyone see her sweat, so to speak. However, right now she was angry. No, she was downright pissed off. She had been pacing in front of the monitor waiting for General Beckman to come online. As soon as the General's image appeared, Nicky spoke, "Permission to speak freely General?"

Beckman hated those words; it seemed to her whenever someone asked that, trouble was not far behind. The general sighed and said, "Permission granted, but remember your place, Agent."

Nicky regained most of her composure and began, "Yes ma'am, all I want to know is whose stupid ass… sorry ma'am, whose idea it was to make Chuck's room look like his room at his home. That was one of the worst ideas I have ever seen. And not only that, they placed pictures of him and Agent Walker in the room. I just don't understand ma'am, are you just trying to break him?"

"Are you through, Agent Parsons?" Nicky just nodded her head curtly and stood, still waiting for the reprimand, but it never came. She looked at the general, and was surprised by what she saw. Was, that compassion… no, it couldn't be. The general took a deep breath and said, "To be honest, I didn't know anything about the accommodations there until I was shown the video feed of the events of yesterday evening. I must commend you on the way you handled Mr. Bartowski. I was told that some of our top psychiatrists recommended that we should put him in a familiar setting, apparently they were wrong."

"Well, Duh."

"What was that Agent?"

"Nothing ma'am, I apologize." Beckman nodded and continued on with the briefing. "When you're at your rehab sessions, I want the asset looking over the reports and intel from the past day. I will place an agent outside the door, in case he decides to wander off."

"Ma'am is that necessary, this is an island after all."

The general let out a small laugh and said, "Yes, and this is Mr. Bartowski, he'll find trouble no matter where he is. Speaking, of… where is Mr. Bartowski?"

"Still asleep, I put him in my bedroom until we can get his room redone."

The general raised an eyebrow and Nicky quickly explained that she slept in Chuck's room. "What are you going to do to his room?" Beckman asked.

"I plan on having everything removed and the room painted. The only things we're keeping are his games and games systems, but I'm putting them away until he asks for them," she replied, a little proud of herself. She knew that Chuck would want his games sooner or later.

Having nothing more to say, the General informed Agent Parsons that they would be having these morning briefings every day and ended the connections. Nicky just stood there looking at the screen, stunned by the abrupt way the General disconnected.

"She does that a lot." The voice made Nicky jump a little as she turned and saw Chuck standing in the hall behind her.

"How long were you standing there?"

"The whole time. I felt I needed to know what she has planned for me."

"So what do you think?"

"It's about like I figured it would be. Oh, and before I forget, thank you for last night and for sticking up for me with the general. I think she thinks you actually care about me." Chuck didn't just say the last part to be mean, but just as a matter of fact.

Nicky furrowed her brow at that and said, "Chuck, I do care." Chuck just gave her a half smile, turned and walked into the bathroom.

####

Sarah sat just inside the back door of the ambulance; she found it hard to breathe, cracked ribs tend to do that to you. The mission had been a success, but it had come at a cost. Luckily, no one had been killed, but they had been beaten badly. This had become a trend with Sarah and Bryce, they would get the job done, but it was not pretty. Bryce walked over to Sarah and said, "You alright?"

"Yeah, cracked ribs, dislocated finger, and a bunch of bruises, you okay?"

"I had a knife stuck in my leg Sarah, so NO, I am not okay. I don't know what's going on with you, but you have to get your head back in the game. This is unacceptable."

"We completed the mission, didn't we? We even completed your little side mission, what was her name? So unless we completely fail a mission, I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone." With that, Sarah stood up and walked away, heading towards her car. Bryce just shook his head and thought to himself, _this is worse than I thought._ He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed into a secure line.

"Webb, secure"

"Larkin secure, but in public. Director, I hate to bother you at this hour, but that situation I spoke to you about, it's getting worse."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"We need some down time, she has to have time to heal and get her mind right, or the next time I call it will be to tell you she's dead."

"Okay, you have three weeks, but no longer, I need you in the field. How are you going to get her to take the time off?"

"I have the perfect way, sir."

Sarah sat behind the steering wheel of her car and suddenly screamed out in frustration. She had no idea what had happened to her, she used to be so careful on her missions, but now she saw herself making mistakes that even a probationary agent wouldn't make. She slammed her fist into the steering wheel and screamed again. After a few moments of self-loathing, she finally regained her composure, started the car and made the 30-minute drive to the motel. She needed a shower and she needed sleep. She entered the lobby of the hotel, avoiding the eye contact with anybody she encountered. She might not be at her best right now, but she was still good enough to make sure no one was following her. She made her way to her room and, once in, she forgot all about the shower and crashed onto her bed. Her eyes had just closed when her phone began to ring. Sarah cursed and let out a sigh when she saw who was calling.

"Walker, secure"

"Webb, secure. So I hear the mission was a success."

"Yes, Sir"

"Nothing more to add Agent Walker?"

"I'm sure Agent Larkin has informed you of all the pertinent details of the mission, sir."

Director Webb gave out a long sigh and continued, "He did, he also put in a request for some time off for the two of you, and before you say a word, I already agreed. You have 3 weeks. I suggest you use them to heal and get your mind right. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes, Sir."

####

Sarah stood by her door waiting, she was furious at Bryce. She wanted to stick every knife she had ever owned into various parts of his body… very slowly. Mostly, she really wanted to ask him why he thought he could try to control her life, just the way he had done to… Chuck. Just the thought of his name brought on a whole new set of emotions. Chief among these was hatred. She hated Casey for tranqing him, she hated Chuck for making her care, and she hated Bryce, well for being Bryce, but most of all she hated herself for what she had done to Chuck. Sarah was torn from her thoughts when she heard Bryce returning to his hotel room. Within seconds Sarah was across the hall and was beating on the door, demanding that Bryce open it. Bryce wasn't too eager to face Sarah, but he knew the longer he waited, the worse it was going to be. He slowly opened the door, and he had barely opened it an inch when Sarah slammed it open and pushed him in the chest forcefully with both hands, almost causing him to stumble and fall. Sarah moved towards him and screamed, "How dare you, you have no right…" Just as Sarah was going to hit Bryce again he threw up his hands in surrender.

"Wait… Wait… I thought you would be happy for the three weeks to look for Chuck." Sarah came to a complete stop and looked at Bryce. "I've got a lead, Sarah."

If Bryce hadn't have seen it with his own eyes, he would have never believed it. He watched the hard, kill everyone in her path look on Sarah's face morph into a loving and caring look in a matter of seconds.

"What? Really? Where?" Were the only words that were able to escape from Sarah's mouth. Bryce took on that smug look that everyone loved to hate and said, "Hawaii".

####

Major John Casey, USMC, yep that's who he was, but the more pressing question now, is where is he. He heard voices all around him, but he didn't want to let anyone know that he was awake, so he just laid there with his eyes closed. As he listened to the voices, he heard English mixed in with German. He felt someone standing over him and thought, " _oh what the hell_ ", and he opened his eyes. The suddenness of the action startled the young nurse. "Major Casey… um… you're awake. I'll go get your doctor." The young lady was gone so fast that Casey was unable to even ask where he was. A few minutes later, an older man came to his bedside, and Casey, not being one for subtleness, blurted out, "I have two questions, where am I and who are you?"

"Well I'm Dr. John Francis McIntyre and you are at Landstuhl Reginal Medical Center just outside of Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Is that all you want to know?"

"My team?"

"Major, I am sorry to inform you that all of your team was killed except for you; there is one man that is unaccounted for, Lt. Miles." With that Casey let out a growl that made the doctor step back.

"He's not missing…" Casey stopped himself before he could say anything else, and then he asked to speak to his superiors. The doctor relented, even though he thought Casey needed more rest and called Casey's commander. Casey then spent two hours on video conference with Major General Bartford Steele, his immediate commander, explaining how the headquarters they had found was not a terrorist cell, but rather something far more advanced, and how his longtime friend and member of his special ops team had turned on them and killed everyone.

When asked, Casey told them the reason Lt. Miles gave for not killing him, was because Casey had saved his life once before. Unfortunately for Miles, allowing him to live was going to be the last mistake he ever made, because Casey was not going to rest until Miles was dead. Casey was trying to rest, but, like many people, he found trying to rest in a hospital rather futile. He just shook his head. How had his life gone downhill so quick, from his greatest accomplishment, taking down Fulcrum, to his worse failure, the loss of his special ops team? Casey smiled as he thought about the takedown of Fulcrum and the subsequent rescue of Orion. Even though he had gotten all the accolades, he knew that the mission had been successful because of one person. Casey closed his eyes and thought about happier times.

####

" _Major Casey, I have some new intel for you." Casey looked up and saw one of the numerous field agents that were now running around Castle like they owned it. He grunted something that sounded like "thanks" and took the blue envelope. He opened it and pulled several sheets of paper out that showed the supposed location of the Fulcrum base, the number of Fulcrum agents in the base and the possible location of Orion inside the base. Casey read over the information several times and developed a plan. Once he was confident in his plan_ _,_ _he contacted General Beckman._

" _Major Casey, I hope you have news and are not just calling for the pleasant conversation."_

" _I know where the Fulcrum base is and where they are holding Orion. I have a plan to extract Orion and eliminate Fulcrum, ma'am."_

 _Beckman raised an eyebrow and said_ _,_ _"Where did you get your information, Major?"_

" _I received information from one of your analysts; I assumed you sent it with the intent of me putting a plan together."_

" _What is the analyst's name? It, should be at the top of the first page of the report."_

 _Casey looked at the report, he actually didn't know that the analysts signed their work; he always skipped the top part and went right into the meat of the report. "General, there is no name, only a set of numbers 268. 4. 316. 22. 38. 69. 123. Do you know who that is?"_

 _The general had a deep frown on her face when she said_ _,_ _"No, they use their last name or service number, not something like you just quoted." At that moment, Casey realized what it was and who had sent it. A couple of months before Chuck was placed in lock down_ _,_ _he had developed a cipher code using prime numbers and multiplication. Chuck tried his best to explain how it worked to Casey, but he just stared at him like he was stupid. So, Chuck just handed him a thumb drive and told him if he ever got a code from him, just connect the drive to a computer. Once the program started_ _,_ _enter in the number, easy. Casey smiled at the memory of how excited the nerd had gotten_ _,_ _the growing grin not going unnoticed by the general._

" _Something funny, Major?"_

" _No ma'am, just eager to take out Fulcrum ma'am."_

" _Well, I have an alternate plan, Major. While I appreciate all the work you have done on your plan, I want you and your special ops team to go and confirm that this location is the actual Fulcrum base. If it is_ _,_ _I want you to pull out and I will send in the Air Force to use bunker buster bombs and destroy the base."_

" _Ma'am_ _,_ _what about Orion? I gave my word to Bartowski we would rescue him."_

" _I understand Major, but the eradication of Fulcrum is more important than one man, even if it is Orion. Are we clear Major?"_

" _Yes, ma'am." Once the general had signed off, Casey went to his locker and pulled out the thumb drive. After the program had started, he typed in the numbers from the report and two simple words appeared. "Save Him"._

 _Casey and his team arrived in Barstow, and following the GPS location given by Chuck, they had found an abandoned drive-in theater. The team set up surveillance and watched as several cars came and went; they even saw men going into a tunnel under the bouncing pony in the kid's playground. Casey sat back in his seat, he had never gone against a direct order in his entire career, he may have bent some to fit his mission, but this would be bad if it went to hell. If he called in the air strike now he would have 30 minutes to get in, find Orion and get out. Casey gathered his team together_ _,_ _sighed and then said_ _,_ _"Gentlemen, I have a dilemma. First, I have a direct order to call in an air strike on this base, second I gave my word that I would save a man that is being held captive in that same base. I am going to keep my word, I will not order you and I will not ask you to join me. Once I am at the opening to the base I will call in the air strike and that will give me 30 minutes to complete my mission. Once the air strike is completed_ _,_ _break camp and head back to Burbank." None of his men said a word, but when Casey stood and gathered his gear, they all stood and did the same. Casey gave a grunt and nodded at each one. Getting to the opening of the base had been easy; the element of surprise seemed to be working at this point. Once in the base, Casey followed the directions Chuck had laid out in the report and went right to the holding cell that Orion was in._

" _Orion, we're here to get you out, follow us."_

" _Major Casey, is Charles with you?"_

" _No sir, it's just us, now move."_

" _Wait, wait I have to get my work." Orion grabbed what appeared to be a tall glass container with a blue glowing cube in the center and then everyone hurried toward the exit. The group encountered some resistance, but they were taken care of and the group exited without any injuries. Once out of the base_ _,_ _Casey's sniper team eliminated anyone that tried to leave the base before the air strike. And as if on cue, the air strike hit just as his team returned to their camp, and just like that, Fulcrum was gone. Sure_ _,_ _there were bound to be some small cells that needed to be taken care of, but for the most part, it was over. Stephen Bartowski walked over to Casey and shook his hand, thanking him as he said, "Major_ _,_ _where is Charles? I have something I need to give him."_

" _Mr. Bartowski, he was put in look down after you were taken. The general felt that it was the safest thing for him."_

" _So now that the threat has been taken care of_ _,_ _will he be released?" Casey did not answer, but Orion could read it in his eyes, hell he knew how the government worked, he knew Chuck was gone forever. Orion let out a deep breath and asked_ _,_ _"What was the cover story?"_

" _He and Walker were killed in a car accident." Orion looked at his creation in his hands_ _,_ _and then slammed it hard against the armored SUV, shattering it into pieces. "What is that?" Casey asked_ _,_ _as he kicked some of the pieces around._

" _That was the Intersect 2.0, now it's a pile of shit."_

####

Sarah stood in the lobby of the 4 Seasons Hualalai, the plane trip to the Islands had been uneventful, but she was still unable to rest. She was ready to get to her room and sleep; it had been a long time since she just slept. Bryce had finally gotten everything taken care of at the front desk, and then nodded at Sarah; she then followed Bryce and the bellboy to their room. Bryce had told her that he had gotten them a suite with two bedrooms. She wasn't overly happy, but she felt that she could deal with it.

She walked into the spacious living room, and as she was looking around taking in its beauty, she overheard the bellboy say to Bryce, "Here are your keys Mr. Anderson, I hope you and your wife enjoy your stay."

As soon as the young man had left the room, Sarah looked at Bryce and said, "What are you up to Bryce?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Anderson? Wife? Were there ever any leads on Chuck, or was this just some kind of ploy to get me into a hotel room in Hawaii?"

Bryce took in a deep breath and said, "Okay, okay, there were no leads to Chuck. I brought you here to get away from all the distractions, so you can heal… so you can rest."

At that moment, all the anger Sarah had been feeling overcame her and she rushed at Bryce and tried to hit him. Unfortunately for Sarah, her injuries and her fatigue had taken their toll, and Bryce was able to stop her almost effortlessly. He pulled her into a hug and started kissing her neck; he heard Sarah moan and took it as a sign to continue. He moved her so he could unbutton her shirt as he continued to kiss and lightly bite her neck. As he reached the last button on her shirt and dropped it to the floor, Bryce moved behind Sarah and pulled her into him, her back pressed hard against his chest. As he began again to kiss her neck and shoulder, he let his hand gently caress her taught stomach. Bryce was in heaven, he finally had Sarah back. She felt so good in his arms, and he wanted tonight to be special, but as he moved his hand towards her breast, he heard her begin to cry and whisper, "Please no Bryce, please stop." The frailness of her voice shocked Bryce, and although he knew he could continue and possibly have a wonderful night, he wanted Sarah's mind, not just her body. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. For a split second he thought about taking her to his room, but instead he placed her in her own bed. He kissed her on the temple and left. Once outside Sarah's room, he went to the balcony and pulled out his phone.

"Hello," came the voice from the other end of the line. Bryce rolled his eyes and said, "Larkin secure."

"Oh yeah, I always forget that part. Orion Secure."

"I still have no leads on Chuck, but I have all my sources looking for him."

"Well as I promised, if you bring Chuck to me, I'll give you the Intersect 2.0. I've got my part done, so I guess we're just waiting on you."

"I'll find him, I owe him that much."

Orion let out a bitter laugh and said, "Son, you'll never be able to repay what you owe Chuck."

Orion disconnected the call and Bryce sighed, muttering to himself, "You're probably right."

####

Chuck was sitting at his workstation, like he did every morning, going over all the daily reports. He had flashed on several reports and made his notes. He was finding it odd that he wasn't getting much intel about Fulcrum, but was getting more and more about a group called The Ring.

As the realization hit him, Chuck leaned back in his chair, smiling weakly as he shook his head. "Maybe I'm not as smart as everyone says I am. I'm just now realizing Fulcrum is gone and I'm still here. Now this Ring is out there, and I suppose that they are just as big a threat to me. You never had any intention of letting me go, did you?" Chuck said, staring straight at the camera in the room. Chuck leaned forward again and started his work again, and as he read the next report, he just stopped. This time, he actually laughed out loud. It was a kind of a manic laugh, which even startled him. He continued reading the after action report on Agent Larkin and Agent Walker's last mission together. "Now I see," talking to himself again, "she turned me over to the general so she could go running back to Bryce." He continued reading and found a leave request for Walker and Larkin, with a reservation at the 4 Seasons Hualalai in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson.

That was all Chuck could take, he threw the glass of water he had in his hand at the nearest wall and walked to the door of his bungalow. As he was leaving, he looked at the agent by his door and said, "Tell Agent Parsons I went to the beach, she'll know where to find me." Chuck made his way to the beach and went to the edge of the water, contemplating going for a swim, maybe try to swim to Miami, or Japan, or whatever the nearest land was, but not really wanting to die, so he just sat down in the sand. He hadn't been sitting long when Nicky sat down beside him and said, "Want to talk about it?"

"What makes you think there's something to talk about?"

"Well, you came to the beach before I got back from rehab, and there is a broken glass on the floor of our bungalow."

Chuck rubbed his hand over his face and let out a sigh that turned into a groan and said, "I am just fed up, Nicky, I 'm losing hope."

Nicky wanted nothing more than to comfort Chuck, assure him things would be better, but she wasn't going to lie to him so she just put her hand on his back and caressed softly and said, "Something must have been the reports you worked on this morning, because you were in a pretty good mood when I left. What did you see?"

"I guess I just realized today that the guy who calls himself my best friend is not looking for me, and the woman who I thought had some feelings for me is not looking for me. In fact, I realized that she turned me over to the NSA so she could go back and be with this so called best friend, and right now they are living it up at the 4 Seasons in Hawaii. It has been a big day of discoveries for me."

Nicky moved closer to Chuck, so that their shoulders were touching and said, "Really, what else have you discovered?"

"That Fulcrum has been defeated, and there is a new group called the Ring, and I am never leaving this island. See, a big day." The two just sat in silence, going over all the information that Chuck had just blurted out. Chuck leaned back on his elbows and looked at the sky, and began to laugh. Nicky looked at him like he was going crazy, and to be honest she wouldn't really blame him if he was.

Chuck looked over at Nicky and saw the look on her face and said, "No, I am not having a mental breakdown; I just realized I am acting like an idiot. You see, a lot of discoveries today. You know I wasn't always like this; I didn't always break down at the drop of a hat. Before Stanford, I was confident; I knew exactly what I wanted. Hell, right before I was taken, I was more confident than I had been in years. I was helping on missions; I was doing a lot of good work."

Chuck stood up and stared down at Nicky and said, "You know what Nicky, no more. I am not going to let them get to me anymore. I'm in a bad situation, but I've got to make myself better. Now, will you help me?"

"Well, of course, I've just been waiting for you to ask."

####

Bryce checked on Sarah and saw that she was in the same position that he had left her in some 8 hours ago. He let out a sigh. He, really want to talk to her, wanted to try and pick up where they had left off, but he left her alone and he walked out onto the balcony to look at the ocean. Just as he got settled into his chair his phone rang.

"Larkin secure"

"Kane secure"

"Lana, baby, it's so good to hear your voice."

"Really, you're off in Hawaii, with Sarah Walker. I doubt you've even thought about me."

"Oh, believe me, baby, you are all I am thinking about."

"Right, well I just wanted to tell you I took care of those reports for you. I left both yours and Agent Walker's name visible in the reports. I even left the request for leave and the reservations for the Anderson's in Hawaii."

"Perfect, and when I get back to D.C. I'll return the favor. I got to go, talk to you soon." Bryce put his phone on the table beside his chair and leaned back and smiled. "Chuck," Bryce said as he stared out at the ocean. "I'm going to find you buddy, but you won't get the girl."

 **See ya next time.**


	4. Breaking Up Is Hard TO Do

**A/N Hi everyone! Once again I want to thank everyone for the reviews, favorites and follows, I appreciate it so much. One quick word about reviews, I'm of the opinion that everyone has the right to an opinion, so saw what you want in the reviews. All I ask is that you use the space bar, come on, it is the biggest key on the keyboard. It can't be that hard to find. Oh I would have ask you to do this in private message, but since you reviewed as a guest I wasn't able too.**

 **Once again I want to thank** _ **michaelfmx**_ **for the hard work that it is to beta one of my stories.**

 **I do not own Chuck.**

Chapter 4 – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Down Doobie Doo Down Down)

Sarah slowly began to stir as she pulled herself out of a deep sleep; as she stretched, she could feel all the aches and pains from her past missions, especially in her ribs. It took her a moment to realize where she was, not recognizing the hotel room, but once she had remembered, she calmed down considerably. The only questions she had now were how she got into the bed, and what happened to her shirt? As she looked around her bedroom and thought how nice it was, she noticed that someone had placed a bottle of Tylenol and a bottle of water on the table beside her bed. The water appeared to still be ice cold, so she knew it hadn't been there long. When she reached over for the bottle of water, a strange feeling came over her and her spy senses hit her in full force. Why had she been so tired, why couldn't she really remember anything about last night? Sure she hadn't been sleeping much, but she felt like she had been… drugged!

"Damn him, that's why he was always bringing me water," she spat out the words with so much venom, that it almost sounded demonic. She grabbed the water, jumped out of her bed and went out into the living room, but she didn't see him anywhere. She did, however, hear noises coming from the balcony. As she walked closer, she could hear Bryce talking to someone in a hushed tone. As she reached the door to the balcony, she saw Bryce put his phone down on the table and settle down into his chair. Just as she was going to confront him, she heard him say, "Chuck, I'm going to find you buddy, but you won't get the girl."

"What girl would that be, Bryce?"

When he heard her voice he jumped completely out of the chair and turned to face her. As he looked at her, in just her pants and bra, his cockiness made him feel like he might have a chance, but when he saw her face, he had to take a step back.

"What girl would that be, Bryce?" Sarah asked again, with a little more force.

Bryce could feel the situation quickly spiraling out of his control. He contemplated his next move, then he gave a smug smile because he was convinced that he was smarter than her, and he knew just how to handle her.

"Sarah, it is time to stop fooling yourself. You know you can't have a normal life with Chuck, so why pretend? Why bring that kind of pain on him? Haven't you hurt him enough?"

The whole time he was talking, he was easing toward Sarah; he knew if he could just get her back into his arms, he would have her. "You know that you and I together is the only way for you to find real happiness."

When Sarah didn't say anything and slightly lowered her head, Bryce smiled, thinking he knew that she was his. As he was now close enough, he reached out to pull her into his arms, but just as his hands reached her shoulders, he felt a severe pain in his midsection. Sarah had punched him with every ounce of her power. When Bryce bent over from the punch, Sarah grabbed the top of his head and forced it down onto her rapidly rising knee. She smiled at the crunching sound her knee made as it made contact with his face, but then grimaced in pain from her own injuries. She looked at him writhing in pain on the floor and her grin came back.

She handed him the bottle of water and said, "Drink that, it will make you feel better."

Bryce just looked at the bottle and shook his head, still unable to speak. Sarah looked at him and growled, "I'm not asking you, drink the damn water." Bryce slowly took the bottle from her and, with the little strength he had left, threw it over the railing of the balcony. He turned back to Sarah with a devilish grin. Sarah jumped into the air and brought her fist down in a perfectly executed superman punch, hitting him square on the jaw, this time knocking him out. She stared down at him and tapped his head with the toe of her shoe. Satisfied that he was out, she turned on her heels and power walked into her room. Once there she put on a shirt. She wasn't going to let Bryce see her that way again. Sarah retrieved her sidearm from a small metal case. She slammed in the mag, pulling the slide back, forcing a round into the firing chamber. She stared at the gun in her hand, inspecting every inch. She turned her head towards the balcony with pure hate in her eyes.

As Sarah walked back to the balcony, her rage continued to grow with every step. Once she saw Bryce still lying there, she kneeled down and placed the barrel of her gun to his temple. Her breathing became erratic and her hand began to shake. Her index finger caressed the trigger, but just as she was going to pull it, she jumped to her feet and screamed, "Dammit, Chuck get out of my head!" She turned and sent several kicks into Bryce's midsection.

Sarah went to Bryce's room and gathered all of his bags together; she had to shake her head when she discovered he had more bags than she did. She opened one of the smaller ones and found it full of hair products. She laughed and then called the front desk to have all of his bags taken to the lobby, telling the bellhop that he got called back for work. She moved back out onto the balcony and saw Bryce was still lying still. When she saw his phone she picked it up and redialed the last number and then waited.

"Kane secure"

"Well-well, Lana Kane,"

"Wh-Who is this, where is Bryce?"

"You know who this is; my question is, what has Bryce been having you do for him back at headquarters?"

"N-nothing, we're just friends and we talk sometimes."

Sarah actually laughed and said, "Bryce… friends… with a woman? You need to learn to lie better than that, Lana, if you're going to have a career as a spy. Here is what's going to happen. You're going to tell me everything you've been doing for Bryce, or I make one call to the Director and tell him you're selling information to our enemies. Now I'm sure you will be able to convince him you aren't, but when they go through everything in your life, what will they find? Oh, and if you're thinking he would never believe me, just remember… I'm Sarah Walker."

Lana knew she had no chance against Agent Sarah Walker, so she told her everything. She explained how she had left their names un-redacted on the after mission report and how she had attached the request for leave for Mr. and Mrs. Anderson in Hawaii. Sarah felt a twinge of pain in her stomach; she knew the only reason Bryce would do something like that was to get to Chuck.

"Alright Lana," Sarah said in a cheery voice that Lana found more threatening than her angry one. "You're off the hook for now, but there will come a time when I need a favor, and you will do it, right?"

"Yes, Sarah… I have one question, though. Is Bryce still alive?"

"For now," Sarah mused and hung up the phone. She then dialed the next number on Bryce's phone.

"Hello," said the voice from the other end of the line. Sarah just stared at the phone; this was not what she had expected, the voice sounded like an older man.

"Hello, who is this?" Sarah asked.

"Aren't you supposed to say that you are secure Agent Walker?"

"Mr. Bar… Orion is that you?" Sarah had heard that Casey had rescued Orion, so the only surprise was that he was in contact with Larkin. Why would he be in Bryce's phone? Then just as soon as thought hit, the answer was there. He must be helping Orion to find Chuck, but Sarah knew the truth and had to warn Orion.

"Yep, so why are you calling me on Bryce's phone, where is he?" Orion asked, bringing Sarah out of her thoughts.

"He is… um… indisposed at the moment."

"I can imagine, that was a nice punch."

"You can see… how… Oh, never mind. Orion, I don't care what Larkin has told you; he's not looking for Chuck."

"Yeah, I kind of gathered that when he scheduled three weeks of leave in Hawaii when all my intel has Chuck… anyway, what can I do for you, Agent Walker?"

"Please Orion, I need to find Chuck, please let me help."

Sarah could hear Orion sigh on the other end of the line and she whispered, "Please."

"It was my understanding, Agent Walker, that it was you who led Chuck to Major Casey, so he could be taken." Orion said icily, his fury evident in each syllable, of each word.

"It wasn't like that sir. We were being chased by five Fulcrum agents, I had to save him." The emotions were now becoming evident in her voice; she had to make him see. She was preparing for a long conversation, but to her surprise, he didn't need any convincing.

"Okay, Sarah, we will do this together. Just don't try to screw me over like Larkin did. You know I had to offer him the moon, just to get him to look for Chuck, such a shame. Call me back on your phone when you're ready to start."

"Orion, I need to ask you something before you go," Sarah said, hoping he could give her some answers.

"What do you need Agent Walker?"

Sarah took a deep breath and started, "I need some help figuring out a problem, and you're the smartest man I know, besides your son. I believe that Bryce has been drugging me. It hasn't been knocking me out, but I do feel tired all the time. It has really messed up my emotions, to the point I can't do my job. I find myself making mistakes and I'm relying on him more during missions, and last night I almost gave in to him. When I realized what I thought he was doing, I tried to get him to drink the water he left for me, but he refused. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I feel like there's something wrong with me."

Orion was silent for a long moment, so long that Sarah thought they had gotten disconnected, but she could hear him breathing into the phone, so she let him process. Finally, Orion asked, "Has he been doing or saying anything unusual, maybe calling you by a different name, for instance?"

Sarah thought for a moment and then it hit her. "Yeah, he's been calling me Sarah Belle, for some reason, and he always wanting to hold me. I don't know where he picked that up from."

"Sarah," Orion said after a few moments hesitation, with concern in his voice, "I'm going to tell you something, and I need you to remain calm, Ok?"

"What is it?" Sarah asked, her voice starting to shake. "What has that bastard done to me?"

"I think, and you have to understand that this is only my opinion, but I think he is using some type of mind control drug on you."

Sarah stumbled back, falling into a chair. Had she heard him right, was that even possible? She got up, walked over to Bryce and pointed the gun at his head.

"Agent Walker… Agent Walker… SARAH don't do it, I still need him!" Orion screamed into the phone. Sarah shook her head to clear her mind and asked, "Why do you need him?"

"Sarah, listen to me, the mind control drug is only a theory, the only way I can be sure is to use the activation phrase, and I don't want to do that over the phone. When can you be in L.A.?"

"I can fly out today if I can get a flight, but you didn't answer me. Why do you need Bryce?"

"I'm going to use him; I am going to use him to save Chuck."

Sarah, finally feeling herself calming down, said, "Thank you, Mr. Bartowski, I'll see you soon."

Sarah looked down at Bryce still sprawled out on the floor, she knew she had to get him out of the room or she was going to kill him. She was fighting every urge not to put a bullet in his head, but Steven said he needed him, so she would respect his request. She rubbed her hand over her face, put her gun in the waistband of her pants and then walked back inside and found the ice bucket. Just as she had hoped, it was mostly water but still had Ice in it. She walked back out onto the balcony and dumped the bucket of water on Bryce's head.

Bryce spat and sputtered and yelled out, "What's going on!"

"Get up," Sarah said with so much anger it made Bryce crawl away. "It's time for you to go; all your bags are in the lobby. I'm afraid if you stay here one second longer, I'll kill you."

"But, Sarah Bel…"

"STOP! Bryce, don't push it. I know what you've been up to; I have talked to both Lana and Orion. Now, leave, before you make me hurt you worse. Believe me, Bryce, I so badly want to kill you for drugging me, but for what you've done to Chuck, I want to torture you slowly, I want to watch you suffer. So, it would be in your best interest to leave."

Bryce slowly got to his feet and headed to the door; he started to say something but thought better of it. He would give her today to come to her senses and tomorrow he would come back and sweep her off her feet.

As soon as Bryce was gone Sarah called the Director.

"Webb Secure"

"Walker Secure, just wanted to let you know, I will be using the rest of my leave in L.A., I don't like Hawaii anymore."

####

"Get up Bartowski, it's time."

Chuck rolled over and shot a grimace in the direction of the intruding voice, saying, "It's only 4:30, are you insane?"

"You're the one that wanted to improve his life, so get your lazy butt out of bed," Nicky was almost laughing as she watched a very sleepy Chuck attempt to untangle his long lanky legs from the bed sheets. He finally made it to a sitting position on the edge of the bed and, as he stretched, decided it was time to confront Nicky.

"Can I ask you a question, Nicky?"

"Sure, anything."

"Every once in a while, mainly when you think I'm not looking, you walk without a limp. Right now you're sitting there in your very short shorts and you aren't wearing your knee brace.

Nicky quickly looked down, then back toward her room and mouthed, "Crap".

Chuck gave her a sly smile and said, "Something you want to tell me?"

"Get dressed and meet me on the beach, and I'll explain everything, Okay? She started to walk away and then stopped, looking back over her shoulder. "Oh and Chuck… you're welcome," she said as she pointed to her shorts, then gave a little spin as she left the room.

Chuck just shook his head, and as he started to get dressed, a thought suddenly hit him.

" _Wait a minute! Was she flirting with me? Oh man, I can't let myself fall for this again; I will not fall for the honey trap again! But damn she's hot._

It wasn't long until Chuck had finished dressing and made his way to the beach. As he approached her, he was met by the pleasant sight of Nicky stretching. He stopped a few feet short, not even trying to hide, and just observed her for a few moments. She really was a very attractive woman. When she looked up and saw him watching, she just smiled and said, "Come on. Let's start this."

Nicky had started them out at a slow pace, so they would be able to talk. She looked at Chuck with a smile and said, "First off, the things I'm going to tell you are actually good things. Sending you here was all General Beckman's idea. She didn't consult with the heads of the other agencies; yes, more than one agency uses your unique talents." Nicky stops talking and looked at Chuck as they continued to jog down the beach. She wanted to make sure what she had said so far had sunk in. Chuck showed no expression on his face, but she could tell he was deep in thought.

"Chuck, there is one agency head that has taken a strong interest in you, and he sent me here to watch over you. As a matter of fact, he is the one that made sure I was assigned to make sure we could handle your depression."

There was that word again, "handle". That word had such an effect on him that it forced him to stop. He looked up and saw that Nicky had stopped too and was looking at him; she was smiling at him because she mistakenly thought he understood what she was saying. Her smile quickly faded when she saw his face.

"Are you "handling" me, Agent Parsons?" Nicky did not miss the air quotes around the word handle, or the absolute disdain Chuck had for that word. Chuck began to pace back and forth, his mind racing. All he could think about now were the betrayals he had been through, specifically by women. His mother just abandoned him. Jill screwed his best friend. And then there was Sarah… He sighed deeply as he thought about her. Sarah made him fall in love with her, and then just handed him over to Beckman. Now, Nicky pretended to care for him, openly flirting with him, but, ultimately, she was just handling him… just like Sarah.

Nicky realized very quickly that she was losing him, and needed desperately to explain that she was sent to help him, not handle him.

"Chuck..." Nicky started, but was cut off.

"No! I get it. You were ordered here to be nice to me, to "handle" me. I get it… I get it… you're just like her. GOD, I'm so gullible! I'm just a few months removed from the Great Manipulator, and a pretty face walks in, shows me her legs and I fall for it again." After several deep breaths, he looked out at the ocean and said, "I think I'll run by myself for a while." With that, Chuck turned away from her and took off down the beach.

Nicky watched dumbfounded as Chuck ran down the beach at a much faster pace than they had been running before. She looked down at the sand, kicked a sea shell, and screamed "DAMNIT!" She sat down and watched him run. When he was almost out of site, she got up to run after him, but to her surprise he stopped, turned and started running back toward her. She watched him run back and forth down the beach several times, before he walked by her and headed back to the bungalow. She tried to talk to him, but he would not even acknowledge her. She had to keep up her ruse, so and she went to "rehab", while Chuck did his Intersect duties.

####

Nicky tried several times throughout the day to explain things to Chuck, but he was unwilling to give her the opportunity. She was becoming upset, she never intended to hurt Chuck. He was a very sweet man, but worst part of it all, she had let Director Webb down. He had been depending on her, and she blew it. Nicky had always prided herself on completing her missions, on being the one that never failed. She had failed this time because of one simple word.

Coming to the realization that she may not be able to fix this problem, she went to her bedroom and called Director Webb.

"Webb secure"

"Parsons secure, I believe I've screwed up in a major way, sir."

This was not what Webb wanted to hear. He was getting ready to pitch his idea to Chuck and now it sounded like there had been a major setback. "What happened?" Webb asked, the agitation coming through loud and clear in his voice.

She explained how Chuck had confronted her about her knee, and that he didn't seem upset about that. She continued by telling Webb what she had started to explain to Chuck on the beach and how upset he got at the word "handle", and how he had compared her to Agent Walker.

"Do you think you can repair your relationship with Mr. Bartowski?" Webb asked, hoping that he wouldn't have to pull the plug on the operation.

"I may be able to, but it's going to take some time."

"Time is a luxury we don't have," Webb let out a sigh and said, "Nicky, you've done a great job, but tell Chuck goodbye in the morning, and I will have a jet there for you."

"Sir, do you think that's necessary? I think I can gain his trust back. I believe in a day or two, when he calms down, I can explain everything to him. I can make him see the big picture."

"No, I see my mistake; the next agent I send in will be truthful from the start, she will have no secrets. This is my fault Nicky, you did what I asked. I just went about it the wrong way and now I'm going to fix it."

"Director, do you think sending another female agent is wise? It seems that all the women in his life have screwed him over in one way or another."

"Yes, all the studies we've done on him show he'll respond better to a strong female authority. There is that one important woman in his life that has never betrayed him; we need to take lessons from her. Be honest, and usa a little tough love. Nicky, you did your best; it's time to come home.

"Yes, Sir, I'm going to try to talk to him again, but I'll be on my way home tomorrow."

####

Chuck was lying on his bed. He was still mad, but more at himself than anyone else. How had he let himself be taken in again? Then he got even madder at himself for getting mad when he realized that her being here to handle him was the only explanation for her to be here. His head hurt.

The knock on his door didn't come as a surprise, but what was said through it was. "Chuck, please let me in. I have some things I need to tell you, then I will leave and you'll never have to see me again."

Chuck rolled out of the bed and unlocked the door, he went and sat in the chair that was in the corner and waited for Nicky to start. He watched as she pulled out what appeared to be an electronic jamming device. Once she had turned it on, she said, "No one needs to know what we're talking about. First off Chuck, I was never here to "handle" you. I was sent here to watch over you, that's all. I realize now that I should have been truthful about my true intent, but I was ordered not to tell you anything until we thought you were ready. I'm leaving tomorrow, the powers that be think I have done all I can. Just know this, someone is watching over you, someone, besides me, is on your side."

She had gotten up and was walking out the door when Chuck said quietly, "For what it's worth, thank you for your help that first night, I wouldn't have made it without you."

"It's worth a lot Chuck, and you're welcome."

The next morning, Nicky went into Chuck's room, but he was not there. She looked all over the bungalow, but couldn't find him. She left the house and made her way to the beach. Once she was there, she saw the young agent that usually watched the front door. She looked out at the beach and saw Chuck running up and down in the sand. She smiled to herself, then looked at the agent and said, "Take care of him."

The agent gave a small nod and Agent Parsons turned and walked away. 

####

Chuck's head was hurting, he had flashed on more reports in this session than he had in a very long time. Apparently, The Ring was becoming more active. Just as Chuck was going to sign off, the bottom monitor of the six monitor figuration went black. Chuck watched it intently as a message suddenly appeared.

"1 or 11?"

Chuck smiled, giving a sideways glance at the camera to make sure it could not see the monitor and typed, "Aces, Charles".

"Hello Son."

 **A/N To help you picture it, Chuck's computer set up is similar to the system Hugh Jackman had in 'Swordfish', with each screen displaying reports and intel for him to flash on.**


	5. Rock Me Like A Hurricane

**A/N Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter. I had a bad case of writers block, the football season started, and I had a birthday, not good excuses, but all I got.**

 **Once again I must thank** _ **michaelfmx**_ **for the beta work he did on this chapter. If not for him I doubt it would make too much since.**

 **Don't own Chuck, do own the digital Chuck graphic novel, got it for my bday!**

 **Chapter 5 – Rock Me Like A Hurricane**

Sarah stood at baggage claim waiting for her one lone bag. As she watched all the other suitcases and large clothing bags go by, she was suddenly surprised at the realization about how she could fit enough clothes in that one bag to last weeks. Then she was even more surprised that only now, after 10 years as an agent, did she find it surprising. Something was changing in her, but she couldn't understand what or why. As she grabbed the bag, she turned and was faced with the enormity of the airport she was in.

Sarah hated airports, they were always too crowded, and they were too many things going on, and there were way too many distractions. And the Los Angeles International Airport was like an airport on steroids. Sarah was starting to feel overwhelmed, with crowds, with the noise and with the information Orion had given her plaguing her mind. She needed to get out of there soon or she would start to freak out. Just as she was going to take her bag and run for the door, she saw an all too familiar face, a face that she thought she would never see again.

The two stood staring at each other, neither making any attempt to acknowledge the other. Sarah had no idea what to say, she felt fear, real fear. She knew that one word from this woman could hurt her more than any weapon ever had. How do you face the person who you've hurt so badly? How do you face the person whose family you tore apart? How do you stand there looking at them and not run away screaming?

"Hello Ellie," Sarah finally said as she came face-to-face with her one time friend.

Ellie looked her up and down and Sarah could feel the hatred oozing from her, which was clearly shown in the piercing gaze she was getting from Chuck's sister. With a growl that would've made Casey proud, she spat, "You can call me Dr. Woodcomb. Only my friends and family call me Ellie. Now Agent Walker, get your bag and follow me."

"El… Dr. Woodcomb," Sarah said in a hushed voice. "Please don't call me agent; we don't know who might overhear."

"Oh, I'm sorry is that a secret? I'm so sorry, Miss Walker. Would you please gather your bag and follow me?" The sarcasm and disdain flowed off each and every word. Sarah picked up her bag and followed Ellie without saying another word.

The trip back in the car was made in a very uncomfortable silence, neither wanting to speak, neither wanting to even look at one another. Sarah stared out the passenger's side window lost in thought, hoping that Orion could fix whatever problem she had in her head quickly so she could leave again and never come back. As she sat there engulfed in self-loathing, she hadn't even been aware of where they were going until they pulled into the all too familiar parking lot of Echo Park.

"I thought you were taking me to my hotel?"

"My father wanted to talk to you first." And with that Ellie got out, slammed the car door and forcefully walked into the courtyard. Sarah just sat in the car, she didn't want to move. Then she heard a small tap at her window and looked up. Orion was looking down at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"I'm sorry I had to send Eleanor to get you, but people are still looking for me," Orion explained as he led her from the car to what used to be Casey's apartment. Sarah looked at him, confused. "Ellie and Devon bought the whole complex, with Chuck's life insurance money. Strange thing, no one knew he had life insurance. What was even stranger was that his girlfriend, Sarah Walker, had listed Ellie as the beneficiary on her insurance too."

"It was a payoff," Sarah whispered.

"Yes, I know. Anyway go in and sit down and let's take care of your problem."

As she entered the apartment, she was amazed at the difference. Casey kept it in what he liked to call 'Military Organized', meaning everything has a place and everything in its place. Orion, on the other hand, had his things all over the place. He had turned the whole apartment into a work shop; there were tables full of computers, tools, and all manner of scientific equipment. It actually reminded her of a mad scientist's lair. She was almost expecting Igor to stumble out at any moment. She shook her head and smiled, Chuck's influence was even affecting the way she thought about things now, as she remembered watching 'Young Frankenstein' with him. She slowly walked in to take a seat, all the time taking in her surroundings. She noticed that he had security cameras all around; there was not one square inch that was not covered, and she smiled as she thought that this time his paranoia was probably justified.

####

The two sat across from one another discussing the events of the past several weeks. She explained the feelings she would get before missions, the feeling that she needed to depend on Bryce. She explained how she only felt at ease in Bryce's arms. Thinking about all of this now made her anger at Bryce come back in full force. She felt as if her very core had been violated.

She stopped, thought for a moment, and then continued, "I've never admitted this to anyone. I was compromised; I had very strong feelings for Chuck. So for the past several weeks, one part of my mind has been telling me how much I care for him, while another part has been telling me he was just asset. It's been these conflicting thoughts that are driving me insane. One feeling is just as strong as the other, and they're both there all the time." Sarah paused as a thought hit her. "Now that I think about this, the feeling that Chuck was just an asset and that the assignment has ended has always been more prevalent when I'm with Bryce, and after I had a bottle of water

Steven leaned back in his chair, rubbed his chin with his hand and pondered, "You said that you always felt tired and drained. You also said that Bryce would bring you bottled water."

"Yes, mainly before missions, but anytime we were together he would bring me water."

"Well, as I told you, the only way to prove my theory is to say the trigger words. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Steven saw the fear and apprehension in her eyes when she finally nodded her head. He gave her a small reassuring smile and told her to stand. He took a deep breath and said, "Here we go… Sarah Belle."

Steven watched in amazement as the fear on her face instantly faded into a blank stare. He walked in front of her and waved his hand in front of her eyes, but she didn't even blink. As he was closely studying her face, Ellie walked into the apartment, ready for a confrontation with Sarah. When she saw Steven standing in front of Sarah waving his hand in front of her face, she yelled out, "Dad! What are you doing? What's wrong with her?"

"I had a theory that someone was trying to use mind control on her. So to find out, I said, what I believed to be her trigger word, and now she's in this… trance." Seeing that Ellie was calming down, he turned back to Sarah. "Sarah, can you hear me?"

"Tak, prosze, pana"

"What did she say?" Ellie asked.

"I'm not sure, let me try something else. Sarah, what are your orders?" Nothing happened and Sarah just continued to stand there looking far off into space. "Damn," Steven muttered under his breath.

"Dad," Ellie said as she studied Sarah's eyes, "Have you ever read any of Chuck's comics that have mind control in them? They never say 'orders', they always use the word 'command'.

Steven stepped back and looked at his daughter with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk.

"What?" Ellie said, "He made me read one or two over the years."

Steven shrugged his shoulders and walked in front of Sarah and said, "Sarah, what are your commands?"

"Chuck jest tylko dodatkowym atutem. Chuck jest tylko zadanie . To zadanie jest już skończona," Sarah answered in a very soft, dream like voice.

"What… What was that?" Ellie stuttered in surprise.

"I think it was Polish." Steven explained, then he looked at Ellie, grinned, and ran out of the room. He returned a few minutes later, noticing that neither Ellie nor Sarah had moved from the spots they were in when he had left.

Ellie tore her eyes off Sarah and finally looked at her father. He held up a device that looked somewhat similar to a smart phone. "Universal translator," he explained.

"You know they have an app for that," she smirked, holding up her own phone

"Mine's better."

She rolled her eyes and just nodded at Steven. He then told Sarah to repeat her commands and once again she repeated them. He then pushed a button on the translator and a robotic voice said:

 **Chuck is just an asset. Chuck is just an assignment. That assignment is now over.**

Ellie placed her hands over her mouth and gasped. Steven just shook his head and whispered, more to himself than anyone else, "There has to be more to this." Steven walked around rubbing his face with his hands, then, just like the proverbial light bulb coming on, he had an idea.

He walked back in front of Sarah and asked, "Sarah, what are Bryce's commands?"

Sarah walked to Steven, wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder said, "Mogę zależą tylko od Bryce. Wszyscy inni będą mnie porzucić. Bryce jest jedyną osobą, która mnie kocha. Jestem zakochany w Bryce.

Steven pressed the button on the translator and the robotic voice this time said:

 **I can only depend on Bryce. All others will abandon me. Bryce is the only one that loves me. I am in love with Bryce.**

Ellie gasped again, then yelled out, "That Bastard!" After she calmed down, she turn to her father and pleaded, "Can you help her? I really, really hate her right now," Ellie move to look in Sarah's face as it rested on Steven's shoulder, "but no one deserves this."

Steven extracted himself from Sarah's grasp and began his process of developing a solution. As he paced around the room for the tenth time, he looked at Ellie and said, "I don't think it's total mind control. I believe it is more of a mind modification."

Ellie was staring deep in to Sarah's eyes, half listening to her father, and wondered out loud, more to herself than Steven, "Why Polish, why not English?"

"According to her file, Polish is her second strongest language. You wouldn't want to use English, because anyone could give her commands, if they could figure out her trigger word."

"You have her file?"

Steven looked at his daughter, with a hurt expression and reassured, "I have everyone's file."

Steven walked over to a computer and began typing. He then continued, "It's related to brainwashing, but not as severe. I'll need to figure which chemical was used on her, but first I need it get her out of this trance."

"How do we do that?" Ellie asked, going into doctor mode. Then she got an evil grin and said "I have an idea." She moved in front of Sarah and slapped her as hard as she could across the face.

"What the hell?" Sarah yelled as she gently rubbed her quickly reddening cheek.

"I had to bring you out of your trance," Ellie said with faux sympathy, and then turned on her heel and walked out the door.

Sarah looked over at Steven in total shock. He looked at her sympathetically as he said, "Sit down, I have a video you need to watch."

####

Sarah sat on the edge of the couch, with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands; she was in total shock. She had just watched herself, in some type of trance, speaking Polish, pledging her love to Bryce. She had been absolutely still for over five minutes, and then she sprung to her feet and started pacing. She had known what Orion had told her on the phone, that it may have been mind control, but now it had hit her square in the face.

"What am I going to do? I can't live like this, knowing that one word can turn me into… into… HELL! I don't know what that was!"

"Sarah, please calm down, I have some ideas, but I can't test them until you calm down."

Sarah wouldn't listen; she was now pacing faster and faster around the room. If Steven didn't do something fast, she would soon be running full speed. All Sarah could think about was flying back to Hawaii and putting that bullet she intended to use yesterday into Bryce's head.

She then came to a complete stop and screamed out as she looked at Steven, "WHY DID YOU STOP ME!? He should be dead now, but… you… stopped… me."

"I know, and you do deserve your revenge, but I'm not sure he's the main culprit."

"Not the main culprit? Didn't you see what he made me say? How in the hell can you say he's not to blame?"

Steven took a deep, calming breath in hopes that Sarah would do the same. He walked over and gently put his hand on her shoulder, saying softly, "Look, I know Bryce is very intelligent, and I know he is very clever, but do you really think he has the intellect and skills to pull this off?"

Sarah shrugged off Orion's hand and said, "So, he got help, he outsourced his criminal activity. Wouldn't be the first time."

Steven, seeing he was getting nowhere with her, changed the subject. "Sarah, we can worry about Bryce later, first we have to see if I can remove what is causing the mind modification."

Sarah sat down hard on the couch and asked, "What do I need to do?"

"Well, unfortunately, I need to get Ellie back over here to draw some blood."

Sarah just rubbed her eyes and whispered, "Perfect."

Ellie soon returned to the apartment and, with a matter of minutes, had drawn the blood her father needed. Sarah was slightly surprised that Ellie hadn't made it more painful, but soon scolded herself for thinking like that. Ellie may be mad at her, but she was a professional. Sarah, knowing that there was no time like the present, took a deep breath and started, "Ellie, I need to talk to you, what I'm going to say is going to be the hardest thing I have ever said in my life. So I'm pleading with you to let me finish, and then you can say whatever you need to say."

Ellie's intense glare made Sarah move further back into the couch, but the gentle nod told her to continue.

"I've been a spy for 10 years, and, over the years, I've taught myself to block out any type of feelings and emotions. Because feelings get in the way of missions… feelings get you killed. I was the best; I could have missions that were several months long, being the so called girlfriend of all sorts of men, and not feel a thing when I put a bullet in their head. I didn't allow myself to feel anything. The one relationship I did have was only for stress release. Looking back on it now, I know I had no feelings for Bryce, not real ones anyway. Then I got assigned here, and I met the most infuriating, stubborn, adorable, cute, nerdy man I had ever seen. He changed me overnight, but I couldn't show it. At first, it was because I had never failed a mission and I wasn't going to let Chuck Bartowski change that. Then later, it was because I didn't want to lose him. If I had allowed my feelings for him to show, they would've reassigned me faster than I could've grabbed him and run. And that leads me to the two moments in my life that give me nightmares, the two moments I regret more than anything else in my life. The first was with Chuck, I was ordered to turn him over, to be locked away. When I came face to face with him, I couldn't do it. I had leaned in to tell him we were going to run, and that was when I saw the Fulcrum agents. I had to take Chuck to Casey, I had no choice. If those agents had gotten him Ellie, you can't imagine the pain they would have inflicted on him. He would have been begging to die. I had to… turn him over to save him." Ellie had observed that Sarah had gotten more and more emotional as she spoke, but now the tears began to flow freely down her face. She was finding it hard to breathe, so she stopped talking.

Ellie's tears were falling almost as hard as Sarah's, and it took a moment to regain her composure. "What was the other?" Ellie asked with a crack in her voice.

"What?"

"You said there were two moments you regretted."

Sarah took a deep cleansing breath and continued, "The next one involves you. It was the moment I watched a State Trooper tell you about Chuck, it was the moment I watched you fall to your knees, it was the moment I caused so much pain to someone I loved. It made me physically sick." And just like before, Sarah wept uncontrollably.

"You know," Ellie whispered. "It wasn't just Chuck I was crying over, I lost you too Sarah. You were my friend… my sister."

It took Sarah several minutes to regain enough composure to continue, but she had to let Ellie know how she felt. She wasn't holding her feelings back ever again. "I know you'll never forgive me, and I'm not asking you to, but I needed you to know I didn't do it because I had no feelings. It was just the opposite, I did it because I… oh damn it, I love him, Ellie."

Ellie sat down on the couch and pulled Sarah into her and said, "Oh sweetie, first off, I have already forgiven you. I'm still mad, but I'll get over that, I'm just so happy that you and Chuck are still alive. Second, you're not as good at hiding your feelings as you think, I know you love him, I've known for a long time."

"I'm going to find him, Ellie, and I am going to bring him home."

"I know you will."

####

Steven was busy in his upstairs lab; he had put the blood samples in the mass spectrometer and was not so patiently waiting for the results. He had found some very interesting things when he had done a particle analysis on her blood, and once he had the final results, he could formulate his plan.

Steven, although not trying to be nosey, was still extremely interested in the conversation going on in his living room. He had been sitting on the stairs listening. He had read the official report that was in the NSA's records, but he was intrigued by Sarah's story. The NSA's report conveniently left out the part about the Fulcrum agents. Steven thought it could have been to save face. Having a known terrorist cell finding your highly top secret base, is embarrassing to say the least. Then again, Steven knew the true origins of the report. If Chuck went looking for it, and Steven knew he would, he would find that Agent Walker was following orders. Situations like this were why he wanted his family far away from the government. You can talk all you want about the greater good, but what good is it if you continually manipulate the ones that have sworn to protect it. The Government treats its enemies better than its own people. Well, not all of the Government, just General Diane Beckman. Steven had let his blood pressure get a little too high and now he was dizzy, but there was one calming thought, he was going to remind General Beckman what happened when people screwed with his family. She should've known not to test him, he is Orion, and God have mercy on those who cross him.

Steven put his focus back on the two women talking, and from the sound of things Ellie was trying to forgive Sarah. He smiled at that. Just as Ellie and Sarah started holding each other on the couch, an alarm in his lab sounded, signifying that the mass spectrometer had finished analyzing the sample. He hurriedly made his way back up the stairs and began examining the results being shown on the computer screen. Steven let out a long whistle when he came to the part he was looking for. He rubbed both his hands over his face and mumbled to himself, "If it wasn't so sinister, it would be brilliant."

####

Steven walked down the stairs with all of his findings in his hands; he sat down across from the two young ladies and smiled at them as they continued to hold one another.

"I have some good news…"

"And some bad news," Sarah continued for him.

Steven gave her a reassuring smiled and continued, "Well, I guess the bad news would be that this happened to you, but the good news is that this is not permanent."

"Oh Thank God," Sarah and Ellie said almost at the same time.

Steven began looking through his notes and said, "Do you know anything about nanotechnology specifically nanobots?"

Sarah slowly nodded her head and said, "Chuck explained nanobots to me, some of the advantages and the drawbacks."

"Nerd," Ellie joked.

"Yes, he is."

"I'm talking about you!" The laughter that followed broke a lot of the tension that still remained in the room. Sarah bumped Ellie's shoulder and gave her a thankful smile.

Sarah looked back at Steven and asked, "What do nanobots have to do with me?"

"I found nanobots in your blood sample, very sophisticated technology. Also found a drug called Scopolamine in your blood, or a synthetic type of the drug anyway."

"What is that dad? I've never heard of it."

"Have you ever heard of 'Devil's Breath'?"

Sarah let out a gasp. "They're using that on me?"

Seeing that Sarah had become very upset, Ellie pulled her even closer and asked, "What is Devil's Breath?"

"What I know of it, it comes from the seed of a plant called the Angel's Trumpets. It's mostly found in South America. The drug itself is made into a powder and blown into victim's faces, causing them to go into a zombie-like state and do whatever they are ordered to do. It is powerful enough to even have people clear out their bank accounts." Steven paused for a moment. "By fusing the drug with the nanobots as they have done with you, they managed to make it specific to the host. That way they can modify a certain thought, like convincing you that Chuck was just an asset."

Sarah was in shock, but then remembered he had told her that it wasn't permanent. She looked back at Steven and asked, "How do I get this out of me?"

"It's already started. When your kidneys filter your blood, they are destroying the nanobots. I would guess that even now the amount is significantly lower than it was when Ellie took the sample. My estimation is that by this time tomorrow, they should all be gone. We'll take another sample then."

The relief on Sarah's face made her look almost childlike, she was almost giddy. For the first time in days she had good news.

"I have more good news, but I can't show you until 5 in the morning, can both of you be here?"

Both of them agreed of course, but they also tried their best to get the news out of him. Steven wouldn't tell, and since it had been a very stressful day, everyone retired for the evening. Ellie talked Sarah into staying with her, and for the first time in months, she slept in Chuck's bed and she slept all night.

####

Sarah rolled over and turned off the alarm, wonder why in the world was it still dark out. Just as she was going to go back to sleep, she remembered why and sprung out of bed. Ellie met her by the front door and they made their way to Steven's apartment. Once inside, he directed them all to a computer and the two ladies stood over Steven, watching him type furiously. He took a deep breath and said, "If all my calculations are right, this should work." No one said another word and watched Steven type in a few more words.

 **1 or 11?**

 **Aces, Charles**

 **Hello Son**

 **Hello Dad**

"OH MY GOD!" Ellie screamed so loud that it practically shook the windows.

Sarah felt her knees give just a little, and she then whispered, with longing and a hint of desperation, one simple word "Chuck."

 **A/N What? A Chuck story with no Chuck… wait til next chapter!**


	6. What's Your Name, Who's Your Daddy?

**A/N Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter, I enjoyed chatting with you and answering the question that you had. I want to thank all the new favorites and follows. A big thank you to *michaelfmx* for not only being the best beta around, but also reminding me, that sometime you got to show your lady feelings.**

 **Chapter 6 – What's Your Name, Who's Your Daddy?**

Chuck just sat and stared at the computer monitor, seeing those two words on the screen, **"Hello, Son"** , made his heart race and he vainly tried his best to hide the smile on his face from the camera. Chuck quickly typed his response.

 **Hello Dad**

Soon those words disappeared and another message came on the monitor.

" **I don't have much time, this data stream doesn't last long. Just know that I'm loo…"**

And just as quick as the message had appeared, it was gone, but Chuck could finally feel that there was a small light at the end of this tunnel he had been stumbling through for the last several months. His father was looking for him and, knowing his father, it wouldn't be long until he knew where he was. Chuck leaned back in his chair, stretched and let out a big sigh. For, the first time since he felt the tranq dart hit his neck he had hope.

####

Chuck strolled into his bedroom; he was bored. Although he didn't want Nicky around, he did miss having someone to talk to. He picked up his game controller, looked it over for a few seconds, and then decided that there was nothing like a little Call of Duty to make the day go by. As the game was loading he thought about some of the conversations that he and Nicky had shared. One, in particular, was about him getting control of his life, mainly his physical shape. He knew that running every morning was a good start, and he was actually feeling better, but that wasn't enough. He wanted more, so he turned off his game and dressed in some workout clothes, then headed for the door. He had made his decision; he wasn't going to be sitting in his room playing games all day, not anymore. As he left the bungalow he told his guard that he was headed to the town. The man just nodded and followed.

####

Chuck hadn't really explored the buildings that made up the town square, preferring to stay secluded in his house. So when he arrived he decided that he was going to take his time and check out everything before going to what he knew to be the gym. As he walked in and out of the town's stores, Chuck had started walking with his head down in an attempt to not look at people's faces. He had flashed so much in the first 10 minutes of his arriving at the town square that he had developed a major migraine. So when Chuck was coming out of one of the small department stores, he ran into Jack London, literally. The impact almost sent Chuck to the ground, but it hardly even moved London.

London reached out to steady Chuck, smiled and said, "Well, Charles, I'm so glad to see you out and about."

Chuck was amazed at the strength that London had in his hands. The man didn't look overly imposing, but looks were definitely deceiving. Once Chuck was able to regain his balance, he gave him an embarrassed grin, saying, "Thanks, Mr. London… um… sorry about running you over. And please call me Chuck."

"Only if you cut the mister crap out and call me Jack."

"I can do that," Chuck said with a smile.

"So what brings you out today," he asked as they both started walking down the sidewalk.

"Mostly exploring, and I want to check out the gym, I want to try and get in a little better shape," Chuck mused as he absentmindedly rubbed his bicep.

"Great, it's always a good idea to be in shape. Come on, I will introduce you to the head trainer. I'm sure he'll give you a program that will have you lifting cars within a month." Despite himself, Chuck laughed out loud, for some reason he was comfortable around Jack, like he was someone he'd known for years instead of minutes.

As the two walked into the gym, Chuck just looked around in amazement. There were at least 50 treadmills placed in front of the windows, there were at least four of every type of weight machine imaginable and twice that many free weights. Chuck leaned towards Jack and whispered, "It's a lot bigger than it looks from the outside."

Jack chuckled and replied, "Yep, most of the buildings around here are like that, and you don't have to whisper Chuck, this isn't the library." Chuck blushed and let out a wet laugh as he nodded his agreement. Jack was looking around the gym when he finally found the head trainer and waved him over. Chuck looked up to see who was walking over; when Chuck saw the man he screamed, "Oh Shit" and began to back up as fast as he could. When he hit a wall and could go no further, he felt his knees begin to buckle. As the extremely large man got closer to Jack and Chuck, a big grin broke out on his face. The man then laughed and said in his deep voice, "Hello Chuck."

Jack looked back and forth between the two in confusion and asked, "Chuck, do you already know Mr. Colt?"

####

Jack had led Chuck and Mr. Colt into one of the offices in the back of the gym. As he stood between them, looking back and forth at them, he asked, "So, Chuck, how do you know Mr. Colt?"

"Other than him being an all-around bad guy, he threw me off the top of a building once."

"Hey, in my defense, you were being annoying."

"I was not! You were just being an ass." Chuck audibly gulped when he realized what he had just said to the mountain of a man in front of him. Mr. Colt stared at him and then let out a laugh that practically shook the walls.

"Yeah, I guess I was." Mr. Colt then looked from side to side, stretched out his arm wide and beamed, "Well Chuck, welcome to my rehabilitation. The Government told me that if I would come and live here, work as a trainer, I wouldn't have to live in some God forsaken dark hole in the middle of some God forsaken desert in the middle of some God forsaken country. So here I am."

Jack was enjoying the conversation, but he still needed to find out if they would be able to work together. "So," Jack began, looking at Chuck, "can you work with him?"

"Um… I guess, will my guard be with me the whole time?" Jack just nodded his head.

"And you Mr. Colt, can you work with Chuck?"

"Oh heck yeah, I like Chuck. He makes me laugh. You should've heard him scream when I dropped him, too funny."

"Yeah, hilarious," Chuck sneered sarcastically.

As the three men walked out of the office, Mr. Colt grabbed Chuck by the scruff of the neck and asked, "What ya been up to Chuck? How did you land here?"

"That's a long story, which I'm not allowed to tell anyone."

"You're a strange, funny man, Chuck. So have you been doing any type of exercise?"

"Yeah, I've actually been running every morning. I usually go for 45 minutes to an hour."

"That's great, keep that up and then come here and we'll work on the rest of you." Mr. Colt looked Chuck up and down stroking his chin and asked, "Have you ever done any martial arts? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Let's see, I think what we will do… is when you come in we'll start you with Tai Chi. That'll get you good and warmed up. Then, after you're all warmed up, we'll work your arms and upper body, then the next day we will work on those chicken legs, we'll alternate back and forth. We'll do that Monday through Friday and you get the weekends off. In no time you'll be able to see a big difference. How's that sound?"

"Great," Chuck quipped, this time with even more sarcasm. Mr. Colt slapped Chuck on the back with a laugh and repeated, "Strange, funny man."

####

The next morning Chuck went through his usual morning routine, breakfast, run, then computer work. As excited as he was to start at the gym, to say there was a bit of trepidation in seeing Mr. Colt again would be an understatement. Chuck put on his workout gear and headed to the town square. When he entered the gym, he was greeted almost immediately by Mr. Colt, "Hello, Chuck, I'm glad you didn't back out on me. I was afraid that our little misunderstanding may have run you off."

"Oh no, if a person can't get passed being thrown off a roof, what is this world coming too?"

Mr. Colt let out a hardy chortle, slapped him on the back and said, "We're going to be good friends Chuck. Follow me; I want to introduce you to someone."

Chuck fell in behind Mr. Colt and followed him over to a large room, where several people were working out. Chuck watched as the group made slow graceful movements, all in unison. If Chuck hadn't known better, he would have thought it was a form of dance, but Chuck was very familiar with Tai Chi, having taken it one year for a physical education class in college. Strangely enough, it was Jill that wanted him to take it, something about improving his coordination.

"Chuck, this is Carol Young, she will be your Tai Chi instructor, we don't stand on ceremony here, so you don't have to call her master, unless you're into that." Not giving anyone a chance to respond Mr. Colt continued, "Carol, this is Chuck, he's starting with us today. Take good care of him, he's a friend." It didn't get past Chuck that Mr. Colt had just said he was a friend twice now.

Soon after all the pleasantries were done, Chuck joined in and attempted to follow the movements of the instructor. He wasn't too bad, because of his prior experience, but she could tell it had been a long time since he had tried it. As soon as his session was over, he was pulled over to a set of weight machines.

"Now the fun starts," Mr. Colt said with a laugh. Mr. Colt had Chuck do every machine that concentrated on the arms and upper body. He was told to do 3 sets of ten reps on each machine. Luckily for Chuck, Mr. Colt didn't put much weight on the machines, but Chuck could still feel the burn. After finishing his set, Mr. Colt walked over to him and actually told him he had done a great job, which gave Chuck a certain sense of pride and accomplishment. Chuck told Mr. Colt that his only complaint was that since he couldn't raise his arms he wouldn't be able to hitch hike home. Mr. Colt looked at him for a few seconds then slapped him on the back with a big laugh and said, "Strange, funny man."

####

The next week went by pretty fast. Chuck, to his own surprise, found that he really liked going to the gym. Mr. Colt, although a bad guy that had once thrown him off a building, was turning out to be a likable fellow. Chuck figured all he had to do was keep him laughing and he would be alright. The only downside to the past week was that his father had only contacted him one other time. Chuck was able to tell him he was on "Rehab Island". Orion knew about the island, but had been unable to find any real information on it. Apparently, all the information about its existence and its location were kept out of any digital reports, because there was no info in the NSA, CIA, NCI, or any of the alphabet's records. Orion even knew of someone that had spent time there and would be contacting him soon. Chuck was able to tell Orion about the plane trip. Telling him that the jet seemed to be going in circles, but he was unable to tell him about them knocking him out on the jet because the data stream stopped. They were going to have to figure out how to send more information at one time. One thing that Chuck was happy about, the NSA hadn't assigned him another live in, yet. He hoped that since he was behaving himself, they were going to just let him live alone.

####

The weekends really dragged for Chuck. He still ran every morning, but with no intersect work and no gym, he was pretty much bored. All day long Saturday and Sunday he watched movies and played video games. A couple weeks ago that would have been normal, but not now. So when Monday came around he was actually happy. Chuck had to stop and ponder how strange that was to him, being happy for a Monday. He was changing. Chuck quickly ate his breakfast that morning and headed to the beach for his run. It was another beautiful day, he was glad it hadn't rained. That thought made him come to a complete stop. It hadn't rained the whole time he has been on the island. This close to the ocean, it would only be logical that the island would get some rain. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even remember seeing dew on the ground. He made a mental note to add this to the ever growing list of things to tell his father, the next time he was able to make contact. Chuck was in such deep thought that he didn't see the suitcase sitting on the floor near the couch when he entered the bungalow, so he walked right in to it and jammed his toe.

"Damn it," he mumbled to himself as he hopped around. He then called out, "Hello is there anyone here?" He checked all over the house, but whoever the suitcase belonged to wasn't there. _Great I guess I'm getting another babysitter._ He decided not to let it throw him off his routine, so he showered and began the intersect work.

He was deep in thought, after having a big flash on one of the after action reports, when he heard a female's voice say, "Are you Carmichael?" Chuck looked up and when he saw her face he flashed.

 _Name: Zondra Rizzo_

 _D.O.B: 03/03/1982_ _: Currently 27 years old,_

 _Active duty: 5 years_

 _Current Status: Indefinite Leave: Injured on mission. Ruptured Rotator Cuff_

 _Affiliation: CIA Field Agent, CAT Squad, European Organized Crime Task Force_

 _Personal Information:_

 _Hair: Brown_

 _Eyes: Brown_

 _Height: 5'9"_

 _Weight: 139 lbs._

 _Dress Size 8:_

 _Bra Size…_

Chuck shook his head and smiled. _Damn_ _CIA, what is it with them and bra sizes_ , he thought.

"What are you grinning about?"

Chuck opened his eyes and looked at the woman, but when he did he found himself gawking right at her chest. He quickly raised his head to look at her face, but when he did he saw her with her head cocked to one side and a raised eyebrow. She scrutinized him for a long second and cautioned, "Are we going to have a problem?"

"No-no I'm sorry. I was working on the computer, wasn't expecting anyone, you came in, asked if I was Carmichael… and I'm rambling. I'll shut up now."

Zondra looked at him with squinted eyes and a half smile, trying her best to figure him out. Giving up, she walked over and offered him her hand and said, "I'm Zondra Rizzo, I'll be here until my arm heals."

"You're really hurt? The last agent that was here wasn't, she was... oh let's just say she was acting." Chuck tried to hide it, but you could still hear the hurt in his voice.

"Here are my orders, Carmichael…

"Chuck"

"What?"

"Call me Chuck."

"Okay Chuck, my orders are to watch over you and not lie to you. If I can answer your questions, I will. If I can't, I won't. So to answer your question, No, I'm not really hurt."

Zondra knew what had happened with Agent Parsons, so she was laying it all on the table.

"Wow, that's going to be different, I'm not used to being told the truth."

Zondra gave a small laugh and then, to change the subject, asked, "So what do you do all day?"

"All my days are pretty much the same. I run on the beach in the morning, then I do my computer work, then I go to the gym. After that, I just goof off, movies, games, and stuff."

"You go to the gym?" The surprise in her voice did not go unnoticed by Chuck, and he gave her a half grin. "They told me all you did was play video games."

"Well, _they_ were wrong."

####

The next several of days went by uneventfully; Chuck continued his daily routine and Zondra quickly developed her own. She would join Chuck on his morning runs, which Chuck enjoyed, since she had a habit of wearing a sports bra and tight workout pants. Chuck would rationalize his ogling in his own mind by saying, "I'm a dude." Then he would laugh out loud and Zondra would look at him like he was crazy. On one particular morning, as they ran down the beach Chuck thought of something he wanted to ask her.

"Agent Rizzo, who do you report to? I assume Beckman since, well since it is me, but whom else."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Deflecting my questions already, Agent Rizzo? Let's just say I would like to know who knows my business."

"David Webb, Director of the CIA, ever heard of him?"

"Yeah, I've heard of him, never met him, though. But, thank you for telling me, that's a good thing to know."

Zondra just shook her head and sighed, "You're a strange man Chuck."

"I get told that a lot… must be the island."

####

As time went on, everything was going as well as it could be expected on the island, until one day when Chuck was doing his intersect work. He was going through after mission reports and dailies, when he came across a mission report were a female agent had been ordered to seduce a major drug kingpin. The report didn't give the name of the agent. The only telling information was that the male and female agents were posing as a married couple. While the two agents were running separate aspects of the mission, something went wrong and the female agent ended up having to have sex with the suspect before the male agent could intervene. The report also stated that the female agent had been beaten badly and was listed in critical condition and was currently in the ICU at a local hospital. Unfortunately for Chuck, the report went into graphic detail about the incident and he became sick to his stomach. Chuck knew that Sarah and Bryce were still on leave in Hawaii, but what if they had been called in to take this mission. Somehow he had to find out; he needed to know for his own peace of mind. Chuck jumped out of his chair and began to pace. His mind was racing too fast and he couldn't focus on what he needed to do. Chuck was so absorbed by his own thoughts that he didn't notice Zondra leaning against the door frame watching him. As he turned so he wouldn't hit the wall, he noticed her there, which made him stop in his tracks. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Something wrong?"

Chuck just stared at her for a moment, contemplating what to do. Should he just shrug it off, or did he trust her? Finally, he just pointed to the computer screen. She walked over, sat in the chair and began to read.

After she finished reading the report, she looked at Chuck and said, "I understand that this is horrific, but that's the nature of our business. Sometimes the missions go wrong, sometimes agents die. At least this agent isn't dead."

"I understand all of that, it's just I have a friend, and she and her partner always go on missions as a married couple. I'm just worried it may be her."

"A friend?" Zondra thought for a moment and then continued, "I'll make a phone call, I can't promise anything but I'll ask."

"Thank you, this means a lot to me."

Zondra went into her bedroom and closed the door; she had only been in there for 5 minutes before she opened the door again, so Chuck thought he was going to be out of luck. She came back into the room and gave him a sad smile. She motioned him over to a chair and said, "You may want to sit down."

Chuck eased himself into the chair and braced for the news. To her credit, Zondra didn't pull any punches and got right to the point. "Chuck, the female agent was Nicky Parsons, she's going to be ok, but she was beaten severely and she'll probably be in the hospital for several weeks."

Chuck could feel all the air go out of his lungs, as if he had just been punched by Mr. Colt. Then he started to mumble, "What have I done," over and over.

"You didn't do anything Chuck, she was doing her job and it just went wrong. It happens in our business."

Chuck shot out of the chair, sending it sailing across the room. He was mad, he was hurting and he had no outlet. He started pacing again, looking close to spiraling with despair. He stopped and stared into Zondra's eyes and howled with pain, "But I made her leave, I told her to go, I pushed her back into the field… ME!"

Zondra, taken aback by the onslaught of emotion, took a half step back, but she never broke their eye contact. She was amazed at what she could see in his eyes. She saw the anger, she saw the pain swirling in his deep brown eyes. But what really caught her attention was the depth of caring she saw. She was… mesmerized. After what seemed like an eternity, she was able to break the hold his eyes had on her, and tried to rationalize with him.

"No Chuck, she was assigned to that mission, just like every other agent is assigned."

"But she should have been here…"

"Then it would've been another agent that you read about in that report, maybe even your friend."

"I… I need some air. I'm going to go to the gym a little early today."

Zondra watched Chuck slowly leave the room, his head down, in obvious pain. She sighed hard, picking up the chair and sitting down on it. The last few moments of pure emotion from Chuck had surprised her; she had never seen anyone that upset over another person. She could actually feel the pain radiating off of him, and she just wanted to take it away. With this revelation coming into her mind, she slowly started spinning in the desk chair. As she spun her mind was awash with feelings and emotions she didn't even know she possessed. The one feeling that made her come to a stop was… envy. She was envious of a woman that was going to spend weeks in a hospital. She was envious of that woman, because Chuck Bartowski cared about her. And that thought scared more than any weapon she ever faced.

####

Unfortunately for Chuck, the workout at the gym did nothing to ease his mind. As he just went through the motions, everyone could tell he was distracted, but he just deflected when questioned about it. When Chuck returned from his work out, he tried several things to distract himself. Nothing seemed to be helping and he knew that sleep would be hard to come that tonight.

"I'm going to go for a run," he yelled over his shoulder as he headed for the door.

"Okay, just let me get ready." Zondra asked as she moved away from the kitchen counter to go dress for the run.

"No, if you don't mind I'd rather be alone."

If Chuck had been facing her, he would have seen her shoulders drop, ever so slightly. She returned to the cup of tea she had left and absentmindedly stirred with her spoon. Why had this upset her? Why did she care? Question after question filled her brain, but not one answer appeared.

Chuck ran for almost two hours. He was trying his best to wear himself out so he would fall right to sleep. He didn't want to have to lie in bed and think. When he returned to the bungalow, he saw Zondra sitting on the couch staring at a magazine. Chuck tried to start up a conversation, but she would not even acknowledge he was there. Chuck just shrugged his shoulders and headed for the shower. Fortunately, one thing was on Chuck's side that night, the minute he laid down on the bed, he was asleep.

####

The scream cut into his subconscious like a hot knife through butter, and it startled him awake. At first, he thought it was just one of his many nightmares, so he rolled over to go back to sleep, but just as he was closing his eyes he heard it again. He got out of bed and slowly moved up the hall. As he approached Zondra's room, he heard what sounded like moaning and crying. He gently opened the door to her room and saw her tossing and turning on top of her covers. Chuck slowly walked over to her and called out her name, she didn't answer and started crying even harder. Chuck reached down and shook her arm. The sensation of flying backward in the dark was an unusual feeling. The kick to the chest hurt, but flying backward and hitting the wall was a… unique feeling.

"What the hell do you think you're doing," she screamed at him as he lay against the far wall.

Chuck let out a small moan and said breathlessly, "You were having a nightmare; I was trying to wake you."

Zondra quickly moved to stand over him and gave him a most menacing stare. Chuck gulped and continued, "I promise you were having a nightmare, you were screaming, moaning and crying."

Zondra reached up and felt the remnants of tears on her cheeks. As she moved her hand in front of her eyes and rubbed her tears between her thumb and forefinger, her expression changed.

She looked at him lying on the floor, and a strange feeling came over her. Her eyes softened and she reached out her hand to help him up. As he rose to his feet, he was standing extremely close to her, and neither one attempted to move. As Zondra looked up at his face and Chuck looked down at hers, her brown eyes met his, mesmerizing her again with the feelings his deep brown eyes invoked in her. Without really understanding why, or caring about professional boundaries, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. As he tentatively wrapped his arms around her body to return the hug, she buried her face into his chest and cried. Chuck stroked her hair, shushed and cooed her in an attempt to comfort her as best as he could. Seeing that she was starting to calm down, he slowly led her back to her bed. He helped her back in and covered her up, and then knelt down beside her

"You want to talk about it?" He asked, knowing if she was like all the other agents he knew, she would say no.

"You don't want to hear that one, believe me."

Chuck simply gave her a small smile and said. "Maybe not, but if you need to talk about it, I'm a good listener.

She looked up at him with questioning eyes and asked, "Why would you want to?"

Chuck just shrugged and replied, "Sometimes it just helps to talk."

She let out a small sad sigh and whispered, "Maybe, someday."

Chuck gently patted her on her arm and was standing to go back to his bedroom when she grabbed his wrist and pleaded, "Do you mind staying until I fall back to sleep?" Chuck just nodded his head and looked around for a chair to sit in. Zondra noticed Chuck looking around and, before he could move away from the bed, she tugged on his wrist, pulling him onto the bed and causing him to land on top of her. Chuck looked down at Zondra, locking eyes with her for a moment before awkwardly rolling off her and moving to the far side of the bed. Once there, he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, trying to avoid making the moment any more uncomfortable. To Chuck's total surprise, Zondra scooted closer and pressed her body up against his side. Chuck grudgingly moved his arm from between them. Zondra lifted her head, allowing Chuck to move his arm under it so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. She then reached her arm over his chest and pulled him closer. At this point, Chuck was at a loss about what to do, but thankfully, she fell asleep in a matter of minutes, allowing him to just think about the emotional roller coaster that had been this day.

 **A/N part 2 Someone is behind everything that is going on. Find out who in the next chapter... maybe.**


	7. She's Just a Devil Woman

**A/N Hello everyone! First and foremost I want to thank everyone that commented on the last chapter, and also thank you for the new followers and those that made this story one of your favorites. This chapter was a bugger to write, and there is a lot of information in it. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **As always I must give a big shout out of thanks to** _ **michaelfmx**_ **for his exemplary beta skills. Without him this chapter, really the whole story would be very confusing. So Yay michaelfmx!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck or any Chuck byproducts. I do own a pair of very comfortable socks, just thought I would share.**

Chapter 7 – She's Just a Devil Woman

Chuck had a hard time falling asleep that night. Mentally, it was hard because he was still worried about Nicky, plus there was a beautiful woman who was just wearing a gray NYU t-shirt and white cotton panties lying on top of him. Physically it was hard… because there was a beautiful woman who was just wearing a gray NYU t-shirt and white cotton panties lying on top of him. He had tried to slip away a couple of times and go back to his own room, but she would pull him tighter, moan something unintelligible and stroke his chest, so it became even harder to sleep. After a couple of agonizing hours of just lying there trying his best to be a gentleman, Chuck was finally able to doze off, but all too soon he heard his alarm going off. As he lay there contemplating opening his eyes, he felt something very strange, once again that sixth sense kicked in and he knew that someone was watching him. He slowly opened one eye and saw Zondra lying on her stomach, propped up on her elbows, with her chin resting on her fist, staring right at him. Chuck gulped and asked, "Is there something wrong Agent Rizzo?"

"Oh come on Chuck, we've slept together now, I think you can call me Zondra."

"But… we didn't… I didn't… "

"Wow! You're just too easy," she exclaimed with a chuckle. "Nice shade of red you've got there Chuck." Zondra then paused and let out a deep breath before continuing, "But thank you for last night. I… I haven't had a full night's sleep in a very long time, so… thank you." With that, she leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before bolting out of bed and heading towards the bathroom. Chuck, without even realizing it, found himself watching her leave the bedroom, noticing the little extra sway in her hips. He reached up and gently rubbed the spot where she had kissed him, dumbfounded by this show of vulnerability and emotions from a spy. The strangest thing though, in all of the strange things that had just happened, was that the sleep that he did get, was peaceful and dreamless. As Chuck lay there, contemplating the reason he slept without nightmares for the first time in weeks, thoughts of the kiss returned to the forefront of his mind. _What was that? Was it a thank you? Was it because she… no, no, no that couldn't be it!_ Unable to even consider any other motive behind the kiss other than a "thank you", he eased himself out of the bed and headed to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Zondra gently closed the bathroom door behind her and walked over to the sink. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she grabbed both sides of the sink in a death grip. Anger, fear, and confusion filled her now wet eyes as she whispered in a harsh tone, "What the hell is wrong with you? You're acting like a friggin school girl with a crush." She slowly stepped back from the sink and ran a shaky hand through her long brown hair and sighed, "Chuck Bartowski, what are you doing to me?"

####

The alarm woke her with a jolt; she had been in such a deep sleep that only the piercing sound of the alarm could reach her. It had been a restful sleep, the best she had had in months, if not years. As she stretched, a smile came to her face as she thought; _Finally, things are going my way!_ She made her way to the bathroom, washed her face, brushed her teeth and then brushed out her long, brown hair. She had done everything that had been expected of her, with better results than anyone had anticipated. Now it was her turn, now she would get what had been promised her some five years ago, now she would get the man she loves; now she would get Chuck Bartowski.

Feeling light on her feet, she almost floated down the hall to her living room, and as she did every morning, she sat down on the couch and stared at the three pictures that sat on the small shelf above her television. Three pictures of people so different by nature, but so intertwined. The first picture was of her adoptive parents, the people who had raised her. The next picture was her birth mother, the woman who had molded her, and the last picture was Chuck, the man who had loved her. As she stared intently at the pictures, the memories came flooding into her mind. She winced slightly as she remembered the day she met her birth mom.

She had just turned 12 years old and, on that fateful day at her school, she was called to the Dean of Student's office. Not one that usually got called to the office, she was extremely nervous when she walked in. As she looked around, she saw a woman in some type of uniform talking to Mr. Kilgore, the Dean. When he saw that she had arrived, he waved her into his office, but he didn't enter, to her surprise only the lady in the uniform did.

" _Is your name Jill Roberts?" The lady asked._

" _Yes, ma'am," she uttered shyly._

" _My name is Diane Beckman_ , _and I'm your mother. I put you up for adoption not long after you were born," the lady offered in a flat monotone voice_ , _without a hint of emotion. Jill just sat still not taking her eyes off this woman who_ , _in a matter of seconds_ , _had turned her world upside down. Soon_ , _the words sunk in and Jill's hands started shaking as tears began to pool in her eyes._

" _I know this may be upsetting," Beckman continued in the same emotionless voice, "but I wanted you to know about me. I also wanted you to know that from now on I will be looking after you." Beckman could see the fear building in her eyes and quickly added, "Don't worry_ , _you'll still live with your adoptive parents, but if you ever need anything, all you have to do is call me and you'll have it. Then_ , _someday_ , _I may need your help and I will call you because that is what family is all about, right?"_

The memory of meeting her birth mother still sent a chill down her spine, but that hadn't been the only change that happened. Not long after their meeting, her "Uncle" Bernie appeared in her life. Suddenly he was always around, he was at every family gathering, every holiday, and he was always buying her gifts. Her parents didn't seem to mind and quickly welcomed him into their family, her father even claimed him as his best friend.

It wasn't until the day of her high school graduation that her birth mother asked Jill for her help. At her graduation party, Uncle Bernie had pulled her aside and told her that a young man would be starting Stanford at the same time that she was. He told her that her mother needed her to get close to him and report on what he was doing. There were two fatal flaws in this plan. First, there was nothing to report; Charles Bartowski was just a college kid doing college things. He went to class, hung out with his friends and rushed a fraternity, and that was Chuck's college experience. The second flaw, Jill fell head over heels in love with Chuck. Jill was so in love with him that she physically hurt if he wasn't with her. No one could foresee Chuck's infectious personality and that no one could spend any time with him and not become compromised. To Jill's credit, she still did what she had been told to do, she reported in on Chuck.

Jill and Chuck had been dating for nearly 4 years, and Jill was seriously planning for their future. She had never thought that when Uncle Bernie had told her she had to date Chuck things would work out so well. Then one day her world fell apart, Chuck had been accused of cheating and had been expelled. She didn't know what she was going to do, but he had sworn to her it wasn't true. She finally decided that it didn't really matter to her if it was true or not, she was going with him. As she was heading out the door of her apartment with her suitcase in hand, her phone rang. This time, it wasn't Uncle Bernie; it was her mother, Diane Beckman. It crushed Jill when Beckman told her that she had to dump Chuck and that she needed to seduce Bryce Larkin. Jill remembered the shock and revulsion she felt when she heard the word "seduce". She had actually screamed that there "was no way in hell" she would do that to Chuck. Then Beckman reminded her of who was paying for her college tuition, she reminded her of who bought her new car, and she reminded her of all the trips that she had taken.

The next day Jill hooked up with Bryce. Jill had found the experience horrific; the act had made her sick. She had betrayed Chuck. To make matters worse, Chuck came back for her, professing his love. Then her asshole of a roommate told him that she and Bryce were now together. Even though they weren't, she didn't deny it, and she watched her one true love walk away.

Jill had thought her fortune had changed when, just last year, Beckman ordered her to reconnect with Chuck. Those were three of the best weeks of her life, until that bitch Walker got in the way, and ruined everything.

Jill wiped the tears from her eyes; she had hated Beckman for the pain she had caused Chuck. She hated herself for not leaving with Chuck, but she hated Sarah Walker most of all because she was in love with her man and, apparently, Chuck had been in love with her. Jill leaned back in her couch and got a big smile on her face as she remembered the events that had happened just a few months ago. The man she loved, Chuck, had rescued her from prison, then he let her escape, and he gave her an expensive ring so she could have money to live on. Jill folded her hands over her heart and boasted loudly, "He still loves me!"

####

The rhythmic sound of her shoes hitting the concrete and her own rhythmic breathing melded into a relaxing beat that slowly began to ease her troubled mind. Her blow up at Steven and Ellie earlier that morning had made the atmosphere in the apartment almost volatile. But none of this was her fault. They should know that Sarah Walker comes with some unalienable characteristics; one being that she hates waiting. And now she has been waiting a week to go and rescue Chuck. Sure, they didn't know where this mysterious island was, but wasn't Orion supposed to know everything? She had been waiting to go and make Bryce suffer, but Orion said they still needed him. For what, she had no clue, and now they had to wait for some guy who knew about the island. Sarah Walker wasn't a patient person, she needed to run some more… a lot more.

After a 10-mile run, Sarah had finally cleared her mind enough to see that the whole morning's debacle had been, in fact, her fault. She stood at the door of Steven's apartment, dreading what she was about to face, but as she entered, she saw both Ellie and Steven staring at her with a concerned expression. Sarah was so relieved that she didn't see anger or hate in their faces that she skipped her shower and went straight to the living room to talk with them.

"Ellie, Steven." Sarah started as she looked at the father and daughter sitting on the couch, "I'm so sorry about this morning. I was out of line, and to be honest, I don't know what came over me. I feel so anxious. I'm on edge and it seems that littles things are setting me off and I don't know why."

"Could it be that you're missing Chuck, and you're ready to do anything to get him back?" Ellie said in a sympathetic tone.

Sarah grinned at Ellie and teased, "What, now you're just going to repeat back everything I told you last night?"

"Yep, in all seriousness, it could actually be the reason for you being anxious, none of us likes just sitting around waiting. Believe me, we all want to go and get him now. And knowing now how you feel about my brother, I can only imagine it is double for you."

Although she knew that Ellie was probably right, there was still one question that was burning in her mind, so she turned to Steven and asked, "Do you think the anxieties are a byproduct of the nanobots left in my system?"

Steven thought for a moment and just as he was going to quell her fears, there was a crisp, loud knock at his door.

Steven stood up from the couch, smiled at her, gently squeezed her shoulder, and then strolled across his apartment to answer the knock. When he opened the door, a genuine grin came to his face as he offered his hand and greeted the man standing there, "John, thanks for coming."

"No problem, Steven. It's good to see you."

Sarah stared at the two men standing at the door exchanging pleasantries, not missing the apparent bond that had developed between the two. She slowly walked over to where the two men were standing and acknowledged, "Casey".

"Hey Walker, you doing okay?"

With those few words, Sarah broke down and fell into Casey's arms and hugged him. He looked at the top of Sarah's head in shock, then over to Steven, who just shrugged. Casey gently patted her on the back and slowly pushed her away. She swallowed hard and whispered, "I'm sorry, just seeing you… it's been hard Casey."

Casey let out a small grunt and agreed. "I know."

Sarah patted Casey on the arm and teased, "Enough lady feelings, let's find Chuck." Casey gave an amused grunt and followed everyone to the living room. Casey sat down in a chair, cleared his throat and started his story.

"About six years ago I busted up my knee pretty badly and I was sent to the island. It's a unique place; it is like a small town. There isn't much known about the island outside of the official line, but what I do know is that the same pilot always flies to the island. If he's unavailable or sick, there are no trips. The agents assigned as security on the plane never get off; they stay on the plane and return home as soon as the passengers get off on the island. If while in flight a passenger starts to look just a little curious, he is given something to knock him out. I know this from experience. They don't want anyone knowing where this island is."

Casey paused, took a drink of coffee that Steven had sat on the coffee table in front of him, and gathered his thoughts before continuing, "It's a true island, with water on all sides. At the center of the island is what they call the "town square". It's where all the stores are. They also have restaurants, a theater, a gym, a gun range, and of course the rehab center. I'm sure they have other stuff; I just never explored that much. There are anywhere from 100 to 150 people on the island. I would say 25 to 30 are staff members, they run the stores, rehab center and such. Another 25 to 30 are permanent residences. From the little people would tell me, they are agents that were "killed" and needed to disappear, and some are agents that are on so many hit lists that there is no other safe place. The rest of the people there are agents that need rehab or just some R&R. There is one thing I know for sure, there has never been an asset sent to the island for lockdown before." Casey took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, he wasn't used to talking that much and he needed a break.

Steven rubbed his chin and spoke, "So it's either off one of the coast or in a big lake. We need to find the plane…

"Or the pilot," Sarah added, also deep in thought.

"Let's work those angles," Steven encouraged, "I also found a way to send Chuck more info than just a line at a time. I'm going to go update him on what we've got."

Steven was steadily typing up all the information to send to his son. He told him that Casey had provided a majority of what the now knew and was helping find him. Steven decided not to tell Chuck that Sarah was there and helping, he didn't see the need in upsetting him. Steven then sent the folder and sat back, whispering, "We're coming, son."

####

Chuck was used to the morning runs being done in silence. Both Zondra and he usually used this time to think and contemplate, but today it just seemed different. The quiet between them seemed strained. Every time he would look at her, it seemed as if she wanted to say something, but instead she ran faster. Chuck finally gave up, more from exhaustion than wanting to know what was wrong with Zondra. He would have to corner her later and find out what was wrong. He was sure there was something he needed to apologize for, but right now he needed to do his computer work then hit the gym.

He quickly logged into his computer and saw something different. Usually,where there were two folders on his screen, Dailies and After Action, today a third popped up titled Ace. Chuck smiled. Clicking the new folder brought up a screen with a question:

 **What I promised to make?**

Chuck stared at his screen, his eyes narrowed, he scratched his head, he rubbed his chin, and he shifted from side to side in the chair. Then a sideways grin came across his face and he typed:

 **Pancakes**

The file opened up and a cover letter appeared. As Chuck read the first line, he let out a hardy laugh, the line was so great he had to read it again:

 **You know for a couple of geniuses, we're kind of dumb.**

Chuck went on to read the rest of Orion's letter, as it explained how Orion had discovered a way to attach his file to the files that the NSA downloaded onto his computer every morning. He also explained that when Chuck's reports were uploaded back to the NSA, the Ace file would be returned to him. He had created a special code that would make the file undetectable, so both these task would be unnoticed. So now they could send as much information back and forth as they wanted.

Chuck continued reading all the information his father had sent, Stephen's report covered not only the little information he had been able to find himself, but also everything that Casey had shared with him. Steven reassured Chuck that they were on the right track and would soon be coming for him.

Chuck could only smile at his father's optimism and he was happy that Casey was there to help; he had long forgiven him for the "incident", knowing that Casey was a soldier first, and would always follow orders. Chuck was disheartened, though, that there was no mention of Sarah, he assumed that she was where she wanted to be, and could care less about him. She had done her duty and moved on. Chuck had to pull himself out of those thoughts quickly or he was going to get depressed again, and no one wanted that.

Chuck typed up his report for his dad, listing all the anomalies he had noticed. The lack of rain and dew, no waves of any consequence hitting the beach, no air traffic overhead, just to name a few. Chuck also reiterated the few things he had been able to send earlier, like it seemed like they had flown in circles when he had first arrived. He was also able to confirm what Casey reported about being knocked out when he started snooping. Chuck closed out the file and went quickly through his actual Intersect work. Once done, he leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head. He smiled as he thought, _As strange_ _as this day had started off, it had turned into a great day!_

####

There weren't any spectacular views from the windows of the NSA headquarters at Fort Meade. From any window you looked out, all that could be seen were cars in a parking lot. There was a tree line past that, but it wasn't much to look at. General Diane Beckman didn't care; she stood in front of the large window of her office and a calm ease came over her as she stared at the blue sky. She let out a happy sigh and returned to her desk, she picked up the tumbler of single malt and took a long sip. Normally, she wouldn't start drinking this early, but she was celebrating. It had been a very good year. She was so close to having everything she had been working towards for the last 28 years, and now it was time to get payback on all those who have had wronged her. She sat in her chair and started making a mental list of people to punish.

She thought long and hard about her enemies, the list wasn't that long, but it was formidable. First and foremost on her list had to be the NSA. The very agency that she now controlled was her worst enemy. The person she had become, the monster that she was, could all be contributed to one event, one caused by the NSA. Beckman set the glass down harder than she intended too, but the hatred this memory brought was overwhelming.

In the late '70s and early '80s Beckman had been on the fast track; she was one of the best and brightest of the NSA. When other agents failed, they sent her in and she succeeded. Then, while on one fateful mission, everything changed. She had been on a mission in Columbia when she met this tall, brown-haired, very good looking Columbian national. Beckman smiled as she remembered how gorgeous that man was. It was nothing unusual for her, she would usually find a plaything when she was on solo missions, mainly to cut out the boredom, but this time, it was different. Andres was different than any of her other "playthings", he was kind, gentle and intelligent. Beckman, in spite of all her training, fell in love, and as the mission came to an end, Andres had decided to move to the States to be near her. There was one other thing very different about that mission. When she had returned home she found out she was pregnant. Being a good NSA agent she followed protocol and reported directly to Admiral Bobby Tinman, the then NSA director, and told him of her condition and that she had decided to keep the baby. Tinman wasn't happy with her decision; he knew if Beckman were to have this baby and keep it, he would lose one of, if not his best, agent. All of his offers and negotiations with her had gone nowhere, and he knew there was only one way to get her back in his fold.

It was on a rainy morning in April when she went into labor; her baby girl was born some sixteen hours later. Beckman was exhausted, her emotions were on edge and she had found herself crying over the stupidest things. She soon found herself staring at the ceiling trying to rest and wondering where Andres was, he had promised he would be there, but he hadn't shown. As she was deep in thought an unknown man walked into her room, threw a copy of the _Washington Post_ on her bed and walked out. She hesitantly picked up the paper which had already been opened to the article they intended on her seeing:

 _ **Columbian Drug Lord Found Dead**_

 _ **Andres Rojas, suspected drug lord from Columbia, body was found floating in the Potomac River…**_

Diane slowly let the paper fall to the floor and began to cry. She remembered how one of the deputy directors had come to visit her, to give the official NSA condolences, for the death of Andres. The Deputy Director, she thought her name was Grace, said all the right things, how sorry everyone was, it had to be a mistake and so on. Then, as she was leaving, she paused at the door and offered, "I hope nothing like this happens to your new baby." Beckman recognized the smirk on the other woman's face; it was the same one she would use whenever she delivered a threat. Beckman made the arrangements for the adoption an hour later. As she lay in the hospital room all alone, everything changed, and just like a light switch her emotions, her feelings and her loyalty to the United States Government were turned off.

Beckman hated those memories and would normally find herself home alone drinking when they came rushing in, but this time she felt that smirk that she reserved for threats come to her face as she remembered being questioned about the death of Deputy Director Grace. It seemed she was found floating in the Potomac.

The only positive thing to happen during that dark time in her life occurred the next day. As she lay in her hospital bed, oblivious to the world around her, General Marcus Meriwether entered her room. He told her he had heard what happened and was appalled at the way the NSA had treated one of their greatest agents. As Meriwether stood over her bed, he gently stroked her red hair and told her that he had friends and they wanted to help her, and if she helped them, they would make her one of the most powerful people in the world. That was an easy decision.

So, that was why the NSA was number one on her list. Beckman smirked as she knocked back the rest of her drink, thinking about how the time had finally come to get her revenge. Beckman poured herself another drink and continued down her list. She then gave an evil grin and growled, "Bryce Larkin… you're next."

She had set everything up, Jill had met Bartowski in college and they were practically living together. Then Larkin butted in and had Bartowski expelled, which ended the CIA's interest in him. She let a small smile cross her face when she thought about all the people that thought she was crazy for putting so much work into Bartowski. Thing was, she knew, she had always known, that Charles Bartowski was Steven Bartowski's son, and that Steven Bartowski was Orion. She would be the first to admit she didn't know Chuck would be the perfect host for the Intersect, she was just trying to find Orion. She had made a mistake by switching Jill from Bartowski to Larkin. She thought that if Orion hadn't contacted Chuck by this time in his life, he never would, that one mistake had set her back years. Getting Bartowski kicked out of school and hiding the fact he had been slated for Project Omaha weren't the main reasons she wanted Bryce's head, the main reason was because he had stolen the Intersect from her. She had her crew ready to go in and grab it, and Larkin went in one day before her team was scheduled to go. If it wasn't for Larkin, she would be an Elder already. Beckman really hated Larkin, but the more she thought about it, she decided to wait on punishing him. She would let him have his fun with Walker in Hawaii. A big part of his punishment would be the guilt he would suffer when he finally figured out what she had made him do to Walker. She let her thoughts turn to what was going on in Hawaii and actually laughed out loud at the thought of the mighty Sarah Walker being under Larkin's control. She was so proud of Jill for getting the nanobots to work just as she had hoped.

When Beckman's thoughts returned to Sarah Walker, she became even angrier. Walker had thought she was so smart, she actually thought that she was hiding her feelings about Bartowski from her. Not even close, she had known from the beginning that Walker was compromised. She also knew Walker was going to run with Bartowski when she told them to put him in lockdown. That's why she had made sure the Fulcrum agents were at the Buy More, she knew it would force her to take Chuck to Castle. Once there, she had no doubt that Casey would follow orders. He always follows orders, well; he usually follows orders, if he had just blown up the Fulcrum base like she had told him to, Orion would be dead. That was the only thing that worried her, Orion was alive. She strummed her fingers on her desk and shook her head, no, no, no, she was not going to let that dampen her mood, she would deal with Orion later.

A knock at her office door brought her out of her introspection and she bidden the person to enter. Beckman's aid quickly made his way to her desk and deposited a stack of folders that contained that mornings intel. Beckman unceremoniously dismissed her aid and took another sip of her drink. As she looked at stack of folders on her desk, she noticed a certain CIA after action report. She smiled as she thought of all the moles she had placed in the Government, and all the secrets they tell her, even top secret CIA files were not out of her reach. She pulled the file out of the stack which caused the folders to slide all over her desk. Not giving the other files a second thought she began to read through the report, she couldn't help but smile as she thought, _The little bitch thought she could yell at me, question my decisions, not hardly. All I had to do was make one simple call to that drug pusher she was investigating; now she won't bother me again._

All of Beckman's plans were coming together; even the little annoyances like Nicky Parsons were being taken care of. It had taken a long time; a lot longer than she had expected it too, but the time had finally come for her to turn over the human intersect to the Ring, and for her to take her place as an Elder.

As Beckman leaned back in her plush office chair to bask in her supposed triumph, she had failed to notice a small piece of paper had fallen to the floor. On this small, insignificant scrap of paper were written four words that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

 _ **Walker has left Hawaii.**_

 **A/N part 2… Now you know the players and the chess board is set, so let the fun begin.**


	8. Nothing Compares 2 U

**A/N Hello everyone! I have no excuse for why I went on hiatus, but I'm back! Thanks to all who have contacted me and encouraged me to get back to the story. A big thank you to** _ **michaelfmx**_ **, not only for his excellent bata work but for helping me flesh out certain parts of this chapter. It went from 7 pages to 9, so he put in a lot! As always thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows.**

Chapter 8 – Nothing Compares 2 U

It was a beautiful day. The type of day that you could walk outside and just get lost in the brilliant blue of the sky and the vivid whiteness of the clouds. It was the type of day that wasn't too hot or too cold, it was a perfect day. Unless your name was General Diane Beckman. Actually, the weather never bothered her much, she never really cared if it was too hot or too cold, or if it was raining or the sun was out. But, she hated days like today. Because on days like today, people seemed to think that they had the liberty to speak to her and ask, isn't it a beautiful day?" It did not matter to her if it was a beautiful day or a stormy day, she didn't want people talking to her. In her mind, there were not many people who should be allowed to talk to her. But unfortunately for Beckman, she had to be outside and she had to talk to someone. So, here she sat in a small sidewalk café sipping coffee, waiting for that person.

"You're late," Beckman spewed out, not trying to hide her contempt.

"You know DC traffic is a bitch and I'm only 7 minutes late, so get off my back." Jill Roberts was in no mood to take any crap, even from her mother because, unlike her mother, she had been enjoying the wonderful day and was more than a little upset when she had been "ordered" to meet her at the café.

"So what was so important that I had to rush here?"

"It's time," Beckman retorted with an edge of annoyance. Jill looked at her with confusion, then, like the proverbial light switch, her face lite up and she sat back in her chair and whispered, "It's time."

The general rolled her eyes and shook her head in disgust and continued, "We'll be extracting the subject within the next couple of weeks and then we'll take him to your 'love nest'. I'm just making sure everything is ready on your end."

Jill didn't care if she was being sarcastic; calling her new home the 'love nest'. All she cared about was that she was now going to be with Chuck. Then she became curious, why had it taken so long? She should have been with Chuck this whole time. With, a tinge of anger in her voice she asked, "If you've always intended to turn Chuck over, why did you wait so long to do it? He could have been with me this whole time."

Beckman raised an eyebrow and stared at her daughter. She wasn't accustomed to having her decisions questioned but thought she would humor Jill and explain the reason for waiting until now.

"Well, at first Graham was always there in the shadows, literally looking over my shoulder, waiting for me to screw up. He wanted to be the only one in charge of this project. I knew if he had gotten any hint of what I wanted to do, he would have thrown me in the nearest prison. Then after Graham's death, I realized that if I kept Chuck out in the field, Orion would try to find a way to save him sooner or later. I just figured I would catch both of them at the same time, or at the very least finally dispose of Orion. Everything was going according to plan until Major Casey developed a conscience and saved Orion, but nevertheless, I have Chuck, and that's all that matters right now."

Jill smiled at her mother and said, "You're so right, all that matters is that I get Chuck."

Jill sat back in her chair and became lost in a daydream about her and Chuck, all the time slowly and gently rubbing the diamond ring on her finger. Beckman noticed what she was doing and began to question her daughter, "Why are you wearing that ring?"

"Chuck gave it to me because he loves me and he wanted me to have it," she answered as she continued to fondle the ring. Beckman pinched the bridge of her nose; she was seriously beginning to worry about Jill's mental state. She took a deep breath and decided not to worry about it. Soon, soon Jill and the Intersect would be locked away together and she wouldn't have to see either of them again. In all honesty, Beckman had really enjoyed not having to put up with Bartowski. She had been a little apprehensive about sending him to the Island, but it couldn't have worked out better. Not only was Bartowski out from underfoot, but Walker and her crew couldn't even find him, much less get to him. As she was deep in thought the waiter came by with the bill, Beckman handed him a credit card and sat back to revel in her genius.

Several minutes later, the waiter returned and gave a small cough to get Beckman's attention. She looked up at the young waiter with a raised eyebrow, saying without words, "What do you want you worm?"

The waiter cleared his throat and meekly squeaked out, "Ma'am, do you have another means of payment? The card you gave me was reported stolen and I was instructed to destroy it."

"You did what?" Beckman yelled, causing everyone in the café to turn and look, even people passing on the sidewalk stopped to watch the excitement. "You do realize that was the property of the U.S. Government? GET. ME. THE. MANAGER. NOW!"

Very quickly the manager of the café made his way to Beckman's table. "Is there a problem," he wheezed out.

"Yes, I believe there is. This… this imbecile destroyed government property," Beckman seethed as she related what had happened.

The manager turned to the waiter and simply asked him to explain his actions. The waiter swallowed hard and began, "When I swiped the card, instead of a receipt printing out, a message printed out that said to call the phone number printed immediately. 'When I called the number, they said it was the Pentagon and the card I ran was one of a batch that had been stolen. They told me that the suspect had been caught and they were destroying the ones that had made it out into the public. They said this had all been approved by a General Beckman."

A large bang got everyone's attention as they looked at Beckman, who had slammed her fist on the table. "I'm General Beckman," she hissed out between gritted teeth.

"Great," the manager said with a sigh of relief, "so you already know about this. Do you have another form of payment?"

With a hand that was shaking with rage, Beckman handed the waiter another card.

Two minutes later, she went red with rage again, as the waiter handed her back the card in several pieces and asked if she could just pay with cash. Jill, trying to stifle a laugh, handed the waiter a twenty and told him to just keep the change.

Beckman then quickly got out her seat and power walked to her car. She had to find out what was going on.

####

Sarah was bored, well bored was the polite way of putting it. When she had described her feelings to Steven and Ellie, she had used several expletives to get her point across. She was tired of doing nothing, she needed to be out in the field, looking for any leads that may lead her to her Chuck… her Chuck? Yes! HER Chuck!

Steven had promised her they were in the planning phase and that they would soon be going to Washington to begin their search. He explained that they needed just a few more pieces of information, and they were still waiting for one other person to arrive to round out the team. So it was her boredom that led her to the second floor of Steven's apartment. She hadn't really meant to be nosey, but damn it she was going stir crazy with nothing to do. She had finally wondered into Orion's studio and sat down in front of Orion's computer, the same computer that she watched him use to send messages to Chuck. She wished she could just send him a note letting him know that she was coming for him, to comfort him, to let him know she cared, but she wasn't sure how Steven had done it. She had been so happy to see Chuck answer the message that she had forgotten to watch how it had been done.

As she sat at the computer, she noticed a folder on the desktop that was labeled "Chuck". With, her curiosity now in overdrive, she clicked on the folder and saw it had two document files, one from Chuck and one from Steven. As she read them, her happiness after seeing the note from Chuck quickly changed to anger, quickly realizing that Steven hadn't mentioned her being there to help. As she read, she saw that Steven had told Chuck all about Casey, but not one single word about her.

Sarah was becoming so angry that she actually felt the heat radiating from her cheeks as her face turned a scarlet red. She slowly pushed herself away from the computer and walked down the stairs to the living room. She was taking deep breaths in an attempt to control her emotions, but it was a losing that battle. As she hit the bottom step she could hear Steven, Ellie, and Casey laughing. Were they laughing at her? As her paranoia hit an all-time high, her rage began to overtake her thoughts as she bellowed out, "What's so damn funny? Are you laughing at me? Do you think it's funny not telling Chuck that I'm here, that I'm looking for him too… that I… that I need him back?" Sarah broke with this final revelation and began to cry angry tears.

An awkward silence settled over the room, during which Ellie looked over at Stephen, who just looked down at his feet to ignore her. She slowly rose from her seat and took Sarah in her arms, hushing her in a calm tone, "No honey, we aren't laughing at you, we would never do that. I'm not sure what reason Dad had for not mentioning you to Chuck, but I'm sure it's a good reason, right Dad?" Steven looked up and shot Ellie a look that clearly said, 'Thanks for throwing me under the bus'.

Orion let out a big sigh and began to explain, "Sarah, please sit down and let me try to explain. I'm not sure what state of mind Chuck is in at this moment, so I'm trying to protect him from any extra mental stress right now. I told Chuck about Casey because it was Chuck that told him how to find and rescue me. I may be totally wrong, but I decided to err on the side of caution, surely you can see that?"

Steven let out a big breath and decided to put all his cards on the table, "To be truthful, I don't trust you, Agent Walker. You were sent here to seduce my son, to control him, for the CIA. I know who you are, Agent Walker. You are, or were, Graham's super spy. The one he sent in when no one else could get the job done. So, no, I didn't tell Charles you were here… you turned him over to Beckman for God's sake!"

All the built up frustration came rolling out of Steven and when he had finished, he put his face into his shaking hands and began to rock back and forth in his seat.

Sarah just stared at Steven, slowly taking in everything he'd said. The sad part of his outburst was that he was right….about everything. She was sent to seduce him, to control him, and she had been Graham's go to spy. But that wasn't who she was anymore, she'd changed. Now she had to convince everyone else.

She took in a long breath and let it out slowly as she gathered her thoughts. "Everything that you just said is true," she started, her voice soft and low. "But my whole mission changed the moment I walked into the Buy More. I saw him standing there and I thought to myself, piece of cake, but then I looked into his eyes and spoke to him. It's hard to admit, but I was compromised before I left the store, or, to be exact, ran from the store. Then we had that date, and I knew I was lost. But I did my job, I kept a distance from him. That was the hardest thing I had ever done."

She then looked at Elle and Steven, her eyes glistening with tears that were trying hard to escape. "That's why I need to tell him what happened," Sarah continued. "I need for him to understand that I didn't betray him. I need to explain that there were Fulcrum agents in the Buy More, I need to explain... that I was trying to save him... that I was trying to keep him safe. So please, I'm asking you to let him know what actually happened in the Buy More, please tell him I'm here helping you, and please tell him that I care about him."

Elle cleared her throat and, with great effort to hold back her emotions, looked at her Dad and informed him, "You're doing this. You're telling Chuck everything…. and I mean everything! Steven looked at Elle and then at Sarah, and slowly nodded his head and relented, "I can do that."

With all of the drama over, Sarah became very curious about why they had been laughing when she entered the room.

"Okay," Sarah started, "if you're not laughing at me, then what were you laughing at?" With that question, the three started laughing again. It took a few minutes for them to calm down enough to explain what Steven had done.

"I just reminded General Beckman that it's not a good idea to piss off a hacker. All her credit cards, both personal and government-issued, were reported stolen and marked for immediate destruction, her bank accounts have been frozen and I contacted the repo man to go get her car. Just saying she's in for a long day. I realize this is nothing but an inconvenience, but I'm just getting started."

"Wait a minute, isn't her car government issued?" Ellie asked. Steven broke into a large grin and simply replied, "Yep."

And with that announcement, all four were now laughing.

####

Later that evening, Sarah followed Steven to the second floor to watch him type up a new document to send to Chuck. Once he had written all the pertinent information for the day he turned to Sarah and asked her if she wanted to write her part. She just nodded her head and Steven left the room. Sarah slowly sat down in the office chair, took a deep breath and began to type.

 _Chuck,_

 _Hi, it's Sarah. Your dad let me write this part because I want you to know the truth. Chuck, I did not betray you, I could never betray you. It is true that I had been sent to the Buy More to take you back to Castle so you could be taken into custody, but I realized I couldn't do it because I realized that you mean too much to me. So when I was leaning in to hug you_ _,_ _I was going to tell you that I wanted you to run with me. But it was at that moment I saw the Fulcrum agents coming up behind you. Once we left the Buy More I saw even more Fulcrum agents in the parking lot. I had no other choice but to take you down to Castle. I was just trying to keep you safe. Now I am here with your dad, Casey, and Ellie_ _,_ _and we are coming to find you. Chuck_ _,_ _I am coming to save you._

Sarah looked over what she had written, she was torn about how much to tell him. Finally realizing that she'd all but admitted that she loved him to his sister and father, it was the least she could do to tell him it also. She once again began to type.

 _Chuck, I know you don't trust me right now, and it hurts me so much knowing that I'm the reason you have lost that trust. I'm working every day to gain your father's trust. And when I find you, and I WILL find you_ , _I will work as long as it takes to regain your trust. I understand you have no reason to believe me, but I swear everything I have written is true. There is something else you need to know, Chuck_ , _I'm in love with you, and have been for a very long time. It happened the day I first walked into the Buy More. You overtook my soul and I was so scared, but I know I need you in my life and I can't live without you. I wish I could have told you all of this face to face, but; I need you to know I love you, and I'm coming for you._

 _Love you,_

 _Sarah_

Checking over what she'd written, she placed her hand over the spot she confessed her love and whispered to herself, "Stay safe Chuck."

####

Chuck had had a long day; first, there was twice as much Intersect work than usual, so that started off his day with a major headache. Then, Mr. Colt decided today would be a good day to bump up the intensity of his workouts, so now every part of his body hurt. He was still rubbing his aching biceps when he walked into his bungalow and saw Zondra standing in the living room apparently lost in her thoughts. It took him several tries, but he finally got her attention so he could ask her if there was anything wrong. She still wouldn't answer him, but looked at him like she was trying to figure out a complicated calculus problem. Chuck started to worry and took a small step towards her when she gave a confident nod and finally blurted out, "Go get cleaned up Chuck, and then put on some decent clothes, you're taking me out for dinner." She then turned and walked off with a purpose to get ready herself.

Chuck stood there, speechless and eyes wide with shock. After staring at Zondra's closed bedroom door for several seconds, he breathed out a weak, "Okay" and made his way to his room.

Chuck quickly showered and went back to his room to dress. He had no idea what to wear. After, several minutes, he finally decided on a pair of black jeans and a dark long-sleeved, button-down shirt. He thought he might burn up in a long sleeve, but it just seemed dressier. He finished his primping and went back to the living room to wait for Zondra. Chuck had become very interested in a program on TV and failed to hear Zondra enter the living room. His concentration was broken by a small "ahem" and he turned to see her. It had only happened to him one time before, but he was struck speechless by the beauty of a woman. Zondra stood in front of him in a burgundy cocktail dress with a hem that hit just short of mid-thigh and a neckline that plunged down to mid-breast. As Chuck was trying to force his mouth to work, Zondra gave a small twirl and asked, "You Like?" All he could do was grin and give a slow nod.

There were five restaurants on the Island: a Mexican, a Chinese, an Italian, a Greek and one that was actually a bar, but they did serve "bar food". So picking where they wanted to eat had taken more time than they had expected.

"Zondra, you pick where you want to go," Chuck insisted. "Honestly I can find something I like at any of them."

Zondra took Chuck's arm and sidled up close to him as they walked around the town. "You know, most of the time I go out, my date always chooses where we go, and every time it's an Italian restaurant. I like Italian food, but my favorite is Chinese, so thank you for letting me choose."

"Hey no problem, I can always eat sizzling shrimp."

The young couple entered the Panda Garden Chinese Restaurant and were quickly lead to a small secluded table for two near the back of the establishment. Chuck, always the gentleman, pulled Zondra's chair out for her. She, gave him a small smile in return, running her hand across his cheek before she sat down. The two discussed the pros and cons of the items on the menu and soon the waiter came for their order, but when he left, the conversation stopped. As they just sat there looking at each other, at the table and at other customers, neither saying a word. At one point they both looked at each other and opened their mouths to say something, and when they noticed the other starting to talk, they both shut up. After an agonizing five minutes of silence, Zondra finally spoke up.

"Damn it, Chuck, It's not supposed to be this hard."

Chuck let out a small chuckle and replied, "No, it's not. We talk all the time at the bungalow, but you turn us loose on the town and we clam up."

"Just relax Chuck, you're being a real gentleman and I truly appreciate it. I've had far too many dates, where there was no gentleman at all."

Chuck gave a one shoulder shrug and told her, "A lady deserves a gentleman."

"Damn you're good Bartowski." Even though the ice had finally been broken, the conversation was still light, neither could tell much about their past or really their present, but they weren't bored. The meal being over, Chuck suggested that they take a walk on the beach. Zondra gladly accepted and soon they were walking hand in hand near the water's edge. Once again they keep the conversation light and as they were. When they started to head back, Zondra turned in Chuck and, as they were standing face to face, she placed her hands on each side of his face and pulled him down for a kiss. The kiss started off soft and gentle, but it rapidly became deep and hot. Zondra brushed her tongue against his lips and he opened his mouth to allow her entrance. As their tongues battled each other, their hand began to roam over each other's bodies. Needing air, Chuck pulled back and rested his forehead on hers, he then spoke very softly.

"Zondra, I can't do this, I still have strong feelings for someone else. I know that these feelings are a pipe dream, but I still have them nonetheless. I'm not a one night stand kind of guy, and I can't start any type of relationship feeling the way I do. I'm sorry."

Zondra took a step back, put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. "Does this someone you have feelings for …does she, have feelings for you?"

"Probably not."

Zondra took a step away from Chuck, but a devilish grin began to spread across her face. "Looks like I have a new mission then, I'm going to make you forget all about this 'somebody' you have feelings for." With that, she grabbed Chuck's hand and led him back to the bungalow. "Oh, and by the way, you're probably going to have to sleep in my bed again, I'm sure I'm going to have nightmares."

####

"Casey, can you contact anyone in the NSA without Beckman knowing?" Sarah asked. She was bent over the table studying different maps of DC.

"I wouldn't want to risk it. I do know one guy that's no longer in the game though. He always seemed to know stuff about stuff. I'll give him a call." And that was the way it had been all day, Sarah, Casey, and Steven throwing ideas back and forth, forming a solid strategy for when they went to DC. Sarah had gotten out of her chair and was beginning to pace when a knock came at the door. She walked over and opened the door. When she saw who was standing there, she went into a rage and swung her fist with all her might, hitting the person in the jaw, knocking them out cold.

Casey quickly walked to the door and pulled it open wider, looked down and said, "Larkin".

"What the hell is he doing here?" Sarah asked, biting back the rage.

"I told you we were waiting on one more, he has information I need. Remember I told you that when you were going to shoot him," Steven quickly explained before Sarah could continue her assault.

Sarah tilted her head from side to side, looking at the downed body, and gave a small shrug. "Just, keep him away from me. And, when we find Chuck he's mine."

Casey grunted, gave a crooked smile and praised, "Nice swing, Walker."

Steven, standing by the door, watched Larkin for about 15 seconds before he closed the door and said, "He'll come in when he wakes up.


	9. Hit Me with Your Best Shot

**A/N: As always thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows, you guys are great! A big thanks to Michaelfmx for his great job as my bata. Without him this chapter would not make any since.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck**

Chapter 9 – Hit Me with Your Best Shot

Chuck was in that state somewhere between sleep and wakefulness and, for the first time in several months, he was content. Unlike most nights, he had slept without having a nightmare. For most of the time he had been locked away, he seemed to constantly have nightmares. Of all the numerous nightmares he had, there were two that were more prominent in his subconscious. The first found him and Sarah walking hand in hand, both looking lovingly at each other. As Sarah led him down the steps of Castle, she turns and shoots him. As Chuck crumbles to the floor, blood flowing out of his chest, Sarah would simply step over his prone body and he would hear her say, "Finally this is over, now I can go back to Bryce." That's when he would usually wake in a cold sweat and a pain in his chest, right where the bullet hit him. The second nightmare was usually just a simple conversation between Ellie and Devon. As they were both reclined on the couch in each other's arm, they would discuss how they were sad that Chuck was dead, but that they were so relieved that the burden he placed on their lives was gone. Sometimes, that dream came in a different version where Morgan would join in, saying what a relief it was not to have to take care of Chuck anymore.

But today was different, he felt light, he felt rested and even though he was still half asleep, he felt content. There was another thing different about this morning; he felt a strange weight on his chest. As he slowly opened his eyes, he could see a mass of brown hair lying on top of him. As he peered over her head, he saw a bare leg lying on top of his leg. He also became aware that he had his arm wrapped around her and slowly began to move it away.

"Stop," a low sleepy voice sung out. "Don't move, it's so comfy." Chuck stopped his movement and stared at the top of her head and mouthed to himself, "Did she say comfy?"

"So… how did you end up in my bed?" Chuck finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Nightmare… you didn't come… came to you… nightmare went away…" Zondra mumbled as she burrowed herself deeper into Chuck's side.

Chuck gave a small chuckle and then realized he had a major problem. Ever since he was a teen, he found himself blessed or cursed with 'morning wood' when he woke up. On this particular morning, it was definitely a curse because Zondra's leg had begun to move and was coming perilously close to his... umm… 'slumber lumber'. Chuck began to think of things that would cause his reaction to go away. People throwing up… scarred mangled bodies… Casey…, "Wait," Chuck thought to himself, "Casey didn't work, strange." Then he thought …Beckman …in a bikini, and things deflated.

With one emergency averted, he still needed to get out of bed, since Zondra was pressing hard on his bladder in her current position. Once again he tried to extricate himself from her grasp, but she only held tighter.

"Zondra, if you don't let me go, I'm going to do something I haven't done since I was a kid," Chuck whispered.

"Really, and what would that be?" Zondra answered back with a tinge of humor in her voice.

"Pee the bed," Chuck said in a wooden voice. Zondra grunted in irritation and rolled off him, turning to glare at him as she said. "You be back in this bed as soon as you are done."

"But I have things…"

"I said as soon as you are done, or I could go with you to make sure you come straight back."

"No-no, I'll be right back." He shouted as he ran to the bathroom.

True to his word, Chuck climbed back into his bed within a minute and, as soon as he had settled in, Zondra was laying on top of him again. Chuck finally relented and did his best not to question what was going on. Soon both were back asleep.

####

Sarah had commandeered Chuck's bedroom for her use and was just lying down to get some sleep. The fact that Bryce had shown up and Steven was ok with it had her in a pretty seriously foul mood. Most of the group had made sure to stay out of her way, except for Ellie, who was just as angry as Sarah about this situation. The two had secluded themselves away from everyone else for several hours, to discuss what to do about Bryce and to have a glass of wine. Well, as the things went, they both ended up having several glasses of wine, so the discussion about Bryce took a decisively sinister turn.

"You know," Sarah mused, "While we were in Hawaii, I should've taken him and thrown him in the volcano."

"Naw, that wouldn't work, you couldn't get close enough to the edge," Ellie answered back.

"Ok, what about wild hogs?"

Ellie raised an eyebrow and looked over her glass of wine at Sarah with a questioning smirk. Sarah just shrugged one shoulder and offered, "I read somewhere that wild hogs are vicious and will rip people apart." Ella just shook her head and took a sip of wine.

That was the way the evening went as more and more morbid and grandiose ideas were flung about. It was at the end of the evening when Sarah became serious as she looked Ellie in the eye and said, "You do know that once I… we find Chuck, I will end Bryce. He would already be dead if Steven hadn't told me he needed him to help find Chuck." Ellie never broke eye contacted as she scowled, "Good."

Sarah was almost ecstatic to have Ellie's approval, and it made it easier for her to relax as she burrowed down into the bed to get, what she hoped to be, a good night's sleep. As her eyelids were finally becoming heavy, her phone began to ring. With a muffled scream into the pillow, she rolled over and picked up the obtrusive device. When she saw whose name was on the Caller ID, she gave a growl as she said, "Walker, Secure."

"Webb, Secure," came the answer from the Director of the CIA. "So, Agent Walker, how's the vacation going?"

"Just peachy sir." Webb could not help but notice the sarcasm and, knowing just the small bit of what was going on, it didn't surprise him.

"Sarah, I need a favor from you." Sarah pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it like it had just given her a shock. She didn't know if she was more surprised by the Director calling her Sarah, or that he was asking for a 'favor'. She put the phone back to her ear and queried, "What kind of favor, sir?"

"I know you're still on vacation for another week, but something has come up in the L.A. area, and you're the only agent I have close. It would take several hours to pull in another agent and I'm afraid our window of opportunity will close."

Sarah let out a sigh and continued, "How long are we talking?) I'm in the middle of some very important family matters, and can't just leave it."

"No more than 6 hours, and if things haven't come to fruition by then, another agent would be there for you to hand the mission off to."

Sarah thought for a moment, six hours wasn't that long, and that is just less time she would have to spend anywhere near Bryce.

"Okay sir, I'll do it."

"Great, I will send you the mission specs to you secure e-mail. And Sarah, thank you."

"You're welcome, sir."

####

The alarm screeched, startling the two occupants of the bed. Chuck looked down at his chest and saw two beautiful brown eyes gazing back up at him. Chuck gave a crooked smile and asked, "Am I allowed to get out of bed now?"

"I'll think about it," mused Zondra as she stretched and yawned. Chuck quickly diverted his eyes, as her t-shirt rose up. He really didn't need another incident like earlier this morning. Both finally decided it was prudent to begin the day, so they both got on with their morning responsibilities.

Chuck quickly showered, shaved, ate a bowl of cereal and headed for the computer room to do his daily Intersect work. As Chuck sat at his computer, he saw that the download had already taken place; he also saw the extra folder on his computer, meaning that he had gotten a new message for his dad. Chuck could barely contain his excitement but knew he had to remain calm. He clicked the folder and saw two document files attached. Chuck just shrugged it off and opened the first.

 _Charles,_

 _I hope you are doing well. We are coming up with a plan to get you from wherever you are. As I have told you_ , _there is no mention of the Island on any of the digital data from any of the Federal agencies. Despite this drawback, I do believe we are getting closer. The other reason for this note, other than to ensure you that we will find you, is to inform you that an Intersect update is scheduled in two days. Charles_ , _I have developed another version of the Intersect, call it 2.0. The Government thinks I destroyed it, but I didn't. The 2.0 has enhanced modules that will give you certain abilities. There are several modules_ , _such as unarmed combat, languages, and cooking. The user manual is also included so you will know all your abilities as soon as it is installed. Charles, this is your decision to make, you and I are the only ones that know about this. If you do decide to install 2.0, reply back and I will overwrite the NSA update with the 2.0. I do miss you son._

 _Dad_

Chuck leaned back in his chair, trying to hide the emotion on his face from the camera in the room. What should he do? On one hand, it really was a no-brainer. He would be able to protect himself, and he wouldn't have to rely on anyone. But, on the other hand, if the Government found out, he could find himself in an even more precarious situation than he was now. Chuck sat there with his head in his hands, trying to make a decision that would affect his whole life when he suddenly got the feeling someone was watching him.

"You alright?"

He looked up and saw Zondra standing in the doorway leaning against the door jam, sipping a cup of coffee, with a look of genuine concern on her face. Chuck gave her a small smile and replied, "Yeah, I just have a lot of work today and a major event coming up in two days. I'm dreading the headache."

She tilted her head and returned his smile and consoled, "If you're sure there's nothing I can do to help, I'll be heading to rehab. Got to keep up appearances, so I'll see you later, right?"

"I'm sure, but thank you. I think I'm just going to finish this and then hit the beach. I'm going to skip the gym today."

"Ok, then I'll meet you on the beach," she confirmed as she walked out of the room.

Chuck gave a wave and returned to his computer. He saw the second document file and wondered what other groundbreaking information his dad was going to throw at him. He clicked on the file and his eyes became blurry. He started to take short shallow breaths and felt like the walls were closing in on him, all because of four little words.

 _Chuck,_

 _Hi, It's Sarah._

####

Sarah sat at the computer, going over her mission briefs. She was happy that she'd agreed to take this on. Apparently, a terrorist group from Mozambique, of all places, that specialized in sex trafficking and kidnapping, was moving to the United States. The group, called Sonho Dourado, had sent an advance man to L.A. to start recruiting members to take advantage of the L.A. population. Sarah grabbed her go bag and headed for the door. As she made it to the courtyard, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Casey.

 _ **Sarah: Boss called. I have a side mission. Should only be gone 6 to 8 hours.**_

 _ **Casey: Need back up?**_

 _ **Sarah: Nope, just a locate and observe mission**_

 _ **Casey: Copy that. Going back to bed. Be safe.**_

Sarah didn't feel it necessary to respond to the last text, so she jumped in her car and sped away.

####

Chuck had forced himself to read Sarah's letter several times. He found that the more he read it, the angrier he got. He didn't see any Fulcrum agents in the store. If they were there, then why didn't she just tell him? He took some deep breaths to control his temper, the last thing he needed was to be caught on camera having a meltdown.

He went back into his memory of that day. Maybe there was a guy in the parking lot by Sarah's car, but there was no one by the nerd herder. He shook his head hard, he couldn't keep doing this. How dare she to apologize to him, in a letter no less, for sending him to hell. Chuck knew that if he hadn't been sent to the Island, he would be dead. He had given up on everything while in the bunker and it was because of her, SHE sent him there. And now not only is she apologizing, but she loves him and she's with HIS family and everything is supposed to be hunky dory?

Chuck jumped up and began to pace back and forth in front of his computer. Finally getting himself back under control, he sat back down. Looking at the letter again, he put his face in both his hand and let out a growl.

He finally calmed himself down enough to eventually have rational thought. As he thought, he came to one realization; 'As angry as I am at Sarah, wasn't it just last night that I told Zondra there was still someone I had strong feelings for? Do I still have feelings for her?'

He let out a sigh and resignedly came to a conclusion, 'I can't do this right now. I need time. But there is something I can do.'

Chuck rolled his chair back to his keyboard and began to type.

 _Dad,_

 _Send the update for the 2.0._

 _See you soon,_

 _Chuck_

####

Sarah was lying on the roof of an office building, watching the building that was directly across the street. All the intel they had indicated that this building had been bought by a front company for the Sonho Dourado. She had been watching for almost two hours now and she had not seen anything. As she watched, she began to wonder if Chuck had seen her letter yet. She hoped it was enough to convey her true feelings. Had she said enough, had she said too much? Her thoughts were slowly becoming a distraction and she almost missed a black van pull into the covered garage of the suspected building.

Not being able to see anything, she left her perch to get a better look. As she entered the garage, she saw three heavily armed men standing around the van. As she settled in to watch, an old man in a very expensive suit walk out of the van and started speaking to the other men.

"Quantos você conseguiu?" The older man asked as he approached the van.

"Cinco," the man standing by the door of the van answered.

Sarah knew they were speaking Portuguese and understood that whatever they brought, there were five of them. Sarah's heart dropped and her jaw stiffened in anger when the men opened the door of the van and she saw five young girls. The girls were all blindfolded and crying. Two of them looked like they had been taken right out of their beds because they were still in their pajamas. Despite her orders, Sarah knew that this had just become a rescue mission. As she looked around planning her next move, she tried her phone, but there was no signal. She suspected they were using a signal jammer, so she was on her own.

The men lead the crying and screaming girls into the building and, when the door closed, Sarah made her move.

She moved closer to the van, using it for cover. She glanced around the corner and saw one of the men come back out of the door. She slid under the van and crawled her way to the guard. As he reached the van, she reached out with her knife and cut his Achilles tendon, causing him to drop to the ground. In a matter of seconds, Sarah was out from under the van and on top of the guard.

She put her knife to his throat and said "Shhhh… you need to be very quiet. How many men are in the building?" The man just shook his head, which ironically, caused the knife to cut him.

"You need to be very still too. I'm only going to ask you one more time, then I'll move on to the next victim… oh sorry, guard. How many more men are in the building?"

The guard looked deep into her eyes and quickly understood that he needed to answer, so he whispered "Oito". Sarah slightly loosened the pressure of the knife on the man's neck and growled, "Eight, just wonderful."

Sarah looked back down at the guard and gave him a condescending smile and plunge a tranquillizer dart into his neck, knocking him out.

She then rolled the man under the van and continued to the door. The door was unlocked so Sarah eased herself into the building and began to search for the girls.

She quickly checked out the ground floor and found no one, so she started climbing the stairs. As she reached the second floor, she could hear voices from just the other side of the door. When she looked through the small window, she could see two men just standing there talking. She slowly opened the door and stuck her suppressed Smith & Wesson 5906 in the crack and shot both in the head. She then pulled the first man into the stairwell. As she was in the middle of pulling the other man through the door, she was spotted.

The man's call for her to stop was loud, but the MP5 he shot at her was even louder. Sarah started sprinting down the hall and, as she was about to reach an open door, she felt a sting in her left leg. She looked down and saw a small bleeding hole midway between her thigh and knee. She dove into the empty office and laid prone, facing out the door. The third man, who had shot her, was walking very slowly down the hall. She could hear him talking on his radio, but couldn't make out what he was saying. As the man got closer, she shot out his right knee and as he was dropping to the ground, she shot again, hitting him in the throat. Sarah rolled over on her back and felt for the hole in her leg. Luckily she could feel a hole on both sides, meaning it was a through and through. She tore the bottom half of her shirt off and made a makeshift bandage for her leg, then continued on with her mission.

She knew that reinforcements would be arriving soon to check on the men she'd already eliminated, so she hurried back to the stairs and began to climb. She was approaching the third-floor door when she saw a guard standing in front of the small window on the door. Thinking this would be an easy kill, she eased closer to the door. As she was reaching for the door, she heard several voices coming from the other side. With this development, she decided to bypass the third floor and headed to the fourth floor. Sarah peeked through that window and didn't see anyone in that hall, so she tried to slowly open the door. When she had the door open about 2 inches, it swung open and Sarah was staring at that barrel of a sigma PS 226. All she could think of at that moment was, "Well crap."

####

Although he was lying on a lounge chair with his eyes closed, he could still tell that the sun was being blocked from his face, so he slowly opened his eyes and found himself treated to a most wondrous site. Zondra was standing over him in a pale blue bikini, or to be more accurate, two very, very small pieces of cloth that barely covered what it was supposed to cover. Zondra smiled at Chuck's astonished look and sat in the lounge chair beside him.

"Chuck," Zondra breathed out in a sultry voice, "I need you to rub some suntan lotion on me. I don't want to burn." Chuck glanced over at her and let out an audible gulp.

"I-I guess I can do that," he nervously responded as he got out of his chair. As he moved closer to Zondra, she rolled over so she would be face down and then she reached back and untied her bikini top. When Chuck saw this, he facepalmed and slowly shook his head. Chuck took a deep breath and tried his best to pull himself together. After several seconds, he finally recovered enough to begin to apply the lotion to Zondra's back.

"Ohhh," Zondra moan in pleasure, "You have really strong hands Chuck, and your fingers are like magic."

"All those years typing on a computer keyboard, I guess," Chuck said, still a little nervously.

"Well thank God for keyboards," Zondra marveled. She was not expecting Chuck to be so talented with his hands. Needless to say, not only was he applying the lotion very well, he was giving her one of the best massages that she had ever had. All of a sudden her plan was beginning to backfire. Instead of turning Chuck on, she was becoming very aroused.

Zondra gave a slight jerk as Chuck moved to put lotion on her legs, the sensation she felt was almost overwhelming. Chuck, feeling her jerk, took it as a sign that she didn't want him to continue, so he stopped. As he stood there looking down at this beautiful woman, his mind went back to the letter he had received just hours earlier. 'What if Sarah does love me? Am I betraying her? What does Zondra really want out of all of this? Is this just a way to entertain herself while stuck on the Island?' He was brought out of his musings when he heard Zondra let out a moan of disappointment and frustration, and demanded, "Don't you dare stop. You finish what you're doing."

Chuck, taken aback by her almost pleading demand, acquiesced, "Yes, Ma'am." He continued rubbing the lotion on her legs, giving just enough pressure here and there to work the muscles in her legs. Chuck may not be a ladies man, but he knew he could give a good massage. That was one thing, and maybe the only good thing, he could take from his relationship with Jill. Chuck finished up and went back to his chair to lie down. He heard of huff of exasperation and looked over at Zondra giving him a disgruntled look.

"What?" Chuck asked, a little surprised at her look.

"You stopped," was the only reply she gave.

"I was finished"

"But Chuck, it felt so goooooood," She moaned.

Chuck just shook his head, closed his eyes and mumble, "Women."

####

Staring down the barrel of a gun would cause most people to panic, but Sarah Walker wasn't like most people, she was a highly trained agent of the CIA. So, she bided her time, waiting for the gunman to make a mistake. It didn't take very long for the man to become overconfident and think that he was in control of the situation. He made a fatal error when he stepped too close to Sarah, who struck before he even realized his mistake. With her right hand, she hit the man's wrist, while at the same time she grabbed the slide and barrel of the gun with her left. In a matter of a few seconds, the man found his own gun pointed into his face. Sarah used the zip ties the guard had on him to tie him up and put him in a closet.

With that obstacle out of the way, she began to search for the girls again. When she reached the third door down the hallway, she found girls huddle in the far corner of the office. The terrified children shrunk back even further when they saw Sarah enter the room.

"Everyone be quiet," Sarah said in a comforting voice, "I'm here to get you back to your families. It's important that you to listen to everything I say, and when I tell you to do something, I need you to do it without hesitation. Does everyone understand." All the girls either nodded or mumble a "yes", so Sarah started leading them toward the stairs.

As Sarah was approaching the door to the stairway she began to feel dizzy. The blood loss from the gunshot was slowly starting to affect her. Shaking her head and pulling from an inner strength, she cleared her head and slowly opened the door. Once the door was opened wide enough to see, she was able to make out two guards standing by the rail of the stairs. Luckily their backs were turned and they didn't notice that the door had opened and then closed. Sarah rubbed her temple trying to come up with her next move.

She took a deep breath and looked at the young girls, who were just staring back at her with frightened faces, not wanting them to hear what was coming next, she knelt down and gently whispered, "I want all of you to close your eyes and put your hands over your ears until I tell you it's safe, do you understand."

Each girl slowly nodded their heads and did what Sarah asked. Sarah, seeing all the girls had their eyes closed, took three deep cleansing breaths to get her mind right, and then she threw open the door and shot the first man that was standing nearest the door. He dropped to the ground not ever knowing what hit him.

Sarah didn't have time to re-aim her firearm at the next guard, who was leaning against the railing, so decided to run straight at him. The man was so shocked by her action that he didn't move from the railing. She took advantage by hitting him with a clothesline across his face. The force of the hit was so vicious that it sent him barreling over the railing, and crashing to the floor four stories down.

Sarah stepped back into the hall to retrieve the girls and started easing their way down the stairs. Her luck was still holding as they had no more trouble and soon reached the bottom floor and exited into the garage. Sarah, knowing that they were not clear of danger yet, gathered the girls together and explained, "If I say run, I want you to run to the closest place that has a lot of people and start screaming, and don't stop screaming until a police officer arrives, does everyone understand?"

"Aren't you coming too," one of the girls asked.

"Yes, but this is just in case I have to stay back and make sure we aren't followed. Ok, is everyone ready?" The girls gave a nervous "yes", and Sarah led them to the street.

The group had just left the garage when they heard shouting behind them, Sarah moved faster, trying to get the group further away.

The pain was intense as the bullet tore through her shoulder, the sound of the gunfire echoing off the buildings was deafening. Fearing the worst and with nothing left to lose, she used the momentum of the impact to spin around and shoot twice, hitting both of the men that were running after her. Sarah fell to her knees and looked toward the children; she saw all five pairs of eyes staring right at her. She licked her lips and yelled, "Run!" And they did, screaming at the top of their lungs. Sarah gave a small sad smile and then looked at her shoulder. She had known it was going to be bad, but one look at the damage and she thought it a real possibility that she was going to die right here. She pushed the button on her watch that activated the homing beacon, hoping she was far enough away from the signal jammer. As she fell to the sidewalk her mind went to Chuck. Did he read her letter? Did he forgiver her? A tear began to roll down her cheek, not from the pain of the gunshot, but from the pain of not seeing Chuck again. As she fell unconscious, she whispered, "I love you, Chuck."

####

The smell, the beeping noise, the unwanted light seeping into her unopen eyes, she knew exactly where she was. Somehow she was alive and in a hospital. Sarah slowly opened her eyes and saw several people standing in the corner of the room whispering.

"Where am I?" she croaked, her voice hoarse from disuse and a need for water.

An older looking man walked over and informed her, "At the moment you're in the hospital, you had major trauma to your shoulder, the scapula was shattered. You have already gone through two surgeries to repair it. You also had a bullet wound to your thigh, but it was a through and through shot, and luckily it didn't hit anything."

"Who are you?" her voice still very weak.

"I'm Dr. Noah Drake, I'm an orthopedic surgeon. Let's just say I'm on loan to the CIA for just these types of cases."

"So how bad is it?" Sarah asked, really dreading the answer.

"I've seen worse, but not many. I do expect you to make a full recovery, but it is going to take time. I see a lot of rehab in your future."

"Do you know if the girls are safe?" With those words, another man dressed in an immaculate suit walked over and gave her a big smile, "Yes they are Agent Walker. You saved all of them, and, from what I understand, you eliminated all of the suspects, except for one, whom they found in a closet."

Sarah let out a sigh of relief and looked back at the man and asked, "And who are you?"

"Oh, forgive me for being so rude. I'm Jack London, and I'm in charge around here. Agent Walker, welcome to the Island."

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